The Fire of the Phoenix
by The-Girl-Who-Dreamed
Summary: Phoenix and Harry Potter are twins and kept a secret that haunted their lives. Parents dead, unwanted by their relatives, different even in the wizarding world. When their godfather is proven innocent and freed from Azkaban and comes to get them from the Dursley's what will he find? Can he with the help of Remus and his nephew teach the twins what is like to be loved? Child Abuse
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Harry Potter.**

**Warning: Mention of child abuse!**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Prologue-**

_The lightning bolt will make her whole_

_The star and the moon will help her heal_

_And when you think it's hopeless_

_The Phoenix will reborn from ashes_

_And help to defeat the Dark One_

_The fire and the bolt are the same as one_

_When you hear the roar of the lion_

_Next to his loved one_

_You'll know it all has been done_

Phoenix lived at Number 4, Privet Drive since she could remember. She and her twin brother were left on her Aunt and Uncle's doorstep almost 13 years ago, and they never failed to let the twins forget the burden they were. Terrible things happened inside #4 Privet Drive, things that defied the normality of what their relatives pretended to live. 

First it was the fact that Phoenix and Harry, her twin, were both witch and wizard and studied on a boarding school called Hogwarts that taught magic in Scotland. Sometimes Phoen -the nickname her brother liked to call her - wished magic didn't exist. If it didn't exist her parents wouldn't have been murdered by Lord Voldemort - a dark wizard - and they wouldn't have to live in her relatives' house in the first place. Her brother wouldn't be The-Boy-Who-Lived and she The-Girl-Who-Lived-Because-Voldemort-Tried-To-Kill-Her-Brother-First. She and her brother wouldn't have to get 'the freakishness beaten out of them' like her Uncle liked to say and everything would be like it should. She knew she deserved every beating she's got, _"she was a freak that was dumped in his door step with a twin brother that were nothing but waste of space that lived there because of the goodness of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's hearts."_ she knew her Uncle's speech by heart. But then, if magic didn't exist, her parents wouldn't have met each other, and she and Harry would've have never been born, she didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing, anyway. She wished she wasn't born; sometimes, late at night, after a pretty nasty beating when she was tossed in her cupboard with her brother without food. Yes, cupboard. 

Phoenix and Harry slept in a cupboard under the stairs since they arrived here. It was getting too small for them, even if they were a lot smaller and thinner than most 13 soon-to-be 14 year olds and that cupboard was their refuge when everything was too much or where they would be thrown in after a beating and were safe because their fat Uncle couldn't and wouldn't enter their cupboard. It was both their sanctuary and their prison. 

They looked slightly like each other, being boy/girl twins they couldn't look the same and neither of them knew which was older one, they never had anyone to ask about it. Harry was the carbon copy of their father only with their mother's eyes. Phoenix had her mother's dark red hair and her eyes, looking exactly like Lily Potter née Evans except some little differences that she inherited of her dad, James, like her nose and high cheek bones.

There's been four days since the end of their third year at Hogwarts and this summer was proving to be getting worse than the other ones. Their Uncle was mad at them because last summer Harry blew up 'Aunt' Marge and Phoenix made all the glasses in the kitchen shatter and ran away, after that only to come back next summer and get the worst four days of their lives. 

At the end of the term they discovered that their godfather- was innocent and spent the last 12 years in Azkaban, the wizard prison guarded by Dementors - evil beings that sucked all your happy thoughts and left you only with your worst memories. He was taken to the Ministry of Magic to await his trial. Their unofficial godfather – unofficial because he's a werewolf - named Remus Lupin that was teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts, resigned after Severus Snape, the Potions Master who seemed to hate Harry and somehow didn't hate Phoenix (only he never looked at her, not even to make a compliment about her perfect potions – not that she expected a compliment from anyone), told everyone in school about his secret, his furry little problem. So, Harry and Phoenix were alone once more for summer at Privet Drive, suffering from their Uncle's wrath worse than ever.

Phoenix always got worst of her Uncle's abuse, even if Harry tried to protect her and take the beatings himself; her Aunt and Uncle always had a special hate towards her. It reached the point that Phoen had difficulty talking – the only one who she talked to was Harry and only when they were alone. The twins helped each other, when Harry was bad Phoen took care of him and the other way around, they did what they could in a small cupboard with only rags that were their cousin's second hand cast offs for them to wear and a small cot for them to sleep. They could always feel when there was something wrong and sometimes they could even feel each other's pain. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking as well, their 'twin-thing' as they liked to call it was a nightmare and a blessing at the same time, it was hard to keep something a secret, but not impossible. Even after all this time, things happened at number four to Phoenix that even Harry couldn't imagine.

'Wake up freaks!' Their Aunt Petunia knocked hard on the cupboard's door and screamed.

Phoenix opened her eyes and looked around for her brother, he was sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed getting ready for the day and trying to do that without moving much.

'You okay Phoenie?' Last night their Uncle was particularly vicious, when he arrived home from work, drunk, he went directly towards the twins' cupboard to _"give them what they deserve"_ and they were still barely standing, having received a beating yesterday morning as well. She nodded and then tried to not to groan when her head and neck ached because of the movement.

'You?' He tried to smile at hearing his sister's beautiful and quiet voice - even for him was rare hear her talk – but his smile looked painful.

'I'll live.' He said like it didn't matter, Harry always liked to stay strong for his twin but she could see right through his mask. She knew he was hurting, scared and wishing for someone who cared as much as her, he only tried not to show it.

Phoenix helped Harry to clean his wounds with the cleanest piece of cloth she could find, but it didn't do much since they were infected or had started bleeding again. He helped her the same way and they stiffly got up, Harry limping and Phoenix with her light bleeding and feeling displaced. It didn't help that they could feel a bit of each other's pain.

Phoenix went to the stove to cook breakfast as Harry set the table, when Phoen was finishing the bacon, Dudley –their cousin- entered running in the kitchen and pushed her, making her sore legs give away and fall down with the bacon's oil all over her. There was silence, then a scream and her Uncle kicking and stepping on her, after a few minutes or hours, she heard Harry's scream echoing hers and knew that he was getting beaten for trying to protect her. _'It's entirely my fault.'_ She just cried quietly, she couldn't recognize her own voice or screams. She just knew that something happened because it all stopped. And suddenly she heard the doorbell.

**A/N: This is my second story and the first I've ever written (or read) of Potter Twins. I'm writing it how I thought it would be like, so I'm sorry if it's not good. Everything about twins I found on Google, so blame it for anything that sounds crazy. Please review so I can know if you liked but please don't be mean.**

**CHAPTER REVIEWED!**

***Phoen is pronounced (Feen) and Phoenie (Feenie).**

**IMPORTANT PS: THIS IS NOT INCEST. Someone brought to my attention that sometimes my story has a "second meaning". I don't see it and I hope you don't too because I'd never write it that way. They comfort and care about each other like the close siblings they are. They were each other's everything for so long that it's natural that they are closer than usual but that's it. Thanks for everything!**


	2. Rescue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Rescue**

_Three days before, morning._

Sirius' trial has just ended and he couldn't even explain how it felt to be free. After a week of interrogations, they found Peter Pettigrew guilty and cleared Sirius Orion Black of all charges. The Ministry gave Sirius money (though he didn't need more) and said they would grant Sirius wish. Sirius asked for the guardianship of his godson and goddaughter Harry Potter and Phoenix Potter as well as to list Remus as their second guardian – since he was their godfather as well. Even though unofficial - should anything happen to him, the Ministry will need to grant his wish, even though Remus is a registered werewolf.

Dumbledore had been a little reluctant to let Sirius and Remus take the twins away from Privet Drive first but after a bit of talking – and shouting on Sirius' part – he accepted. As Remus said: 'they need to live, not only survive.' Remus couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong and this feeling was later confirmed by Sirius –who was feeling the same - driving the men mad with worry.

Through the year Remus, as the DADA professor, had never heard Phoenix speak a word, not even to say a spell and when she did, even his werewolf hearing couldn't hear. Sure, he was proud of her, non-verbal spells are pretty advanced magic but why wouldn't she talk? She used to be very talkative as a baby; in fact both of the twins wouldn't stop talking. He noticed as well that Harry was very protective of her and she of him; he never saw them apart and heard Harry asking his sister if she was okay many times. Why wouldn't she be okay? Seeing them together brought back memories of Lily and James, only without the snogging part and somehow, without the light in their eyes. He remembered that particular moment in his first class with the Gryffindor 3rd Years when he said they would be facing Boggarts, he saw both of the twins tremble and saw Phoenix bury her head in Harry's neck. It would be an adorable sight if it wasn't for the given circumstances. And if his memory wasn't failing him, he remembered them backing away from the wardrobe even before the mention of the boggart. He wished he would have talked to them, but something held him back. He was scared his godchildren wouldn't accept them, or were better off without him. Even if someone said something was really wrong, it was easier for him to ignore that voice in his head than to admit he was wrong and that he should have tried harder to get them.

Remus was pacing in the waiting room when the doors opened snapping him out of his thoughts, Sirius was walking towards him. He looked tired and his eyes were still haunted but for the first time since he saw Sirius in the Shrieking Shack there was a gleam in his eyes and he was truly smiling. Remus didn't need to hear the words, Sirius was free, and Padfoot was back! He reached out for Sirius and gave him a tight hug, trying to express in it all he couldn't say. Sirius fiercely returned the hug and when they pushed away, both men's eyes were shining with unshed tears. Sirius then, extended Remus a paper. Remus looked at him questioningly.

'Just look.' Sirius said with a hoarse voice from lack of use. Remus read the paper and looked up at Sirius grinning face shocked.

'How?'

Sirius shrugged. 'I have my ways.'

Remus hugged him again, he couldn't believe it happened. How did it happen? He tried to get the guard of the twins many times but his 'condition' wouldn't let him and now he would be able to be a part of their lives, if they let him that is. 'Thank you, Siri.' Remus said with his voice shaking.

'It's nothing.' Sirius waved his hand aside. 'You have as much right as I do. Lily and James wanted both of us as their godfathers, and I can't do it alone.' Remus smiled. 'So! Let's get them!' Sirius made an attempt to run but Remus grabbed his shoulder.

'Whoa Sirius, calm down. You haven't got a house yet and I'm sorry to tell you this but you stink.'

Sirius sighed. 'You're right. But after we get everything sorted out we're going to get them.'

It took two days to get everything sorted out; they found a house – or mansion - in the outskirts of Oxford that had 5 bedrooms, a drawing room, a library, a study, a dining room, a kitchen, a basement, an attic as well as a big garden ("to play Quidditch!" as Sirius quickly pointed out). The house was surrounded by a forest and took time to convince Remus to move with them but after Remus ran out of excuses he had to oblige and Sirius put a good use of the thousands of galleons the Ministry gave him buying the manor and making it as different as he could from the house he grew up in. They spent hours decorating the house and choosing the furniture they wanted to replace, especially in Harry's room and Phoenix's room (that were side by side with Sirius and Remus taking the two bedrooms in front of them, the other room would be used as a guest bedroom).

Harry's room was red and gold; the bed resembled the one in Gryffindor Dorm Rooms, the covers had snitches that actually moved! Next to it a big golden-snitch lamp on his bedside table, there was a place designed to put Harry's Firebolt on the wall and the walls were bare (with plenty of space to put Quidditch posters), except for a Gryffindor banner; there was an arm chair and a desk and next to it a dark red rug, a wardrobe and a shelf (Remus insisted). They also enchanted Harry's ceiling to look like a perfect day for Quidditch (or night depended of the time). Phoenix's room was light pink with dark red; they put a lamp shaped in form of the Hogwarts Castle on her bedside table, there was a wardrobe next to her bedroom door and a desk next to it, everything in light wood to contrast with the dark red. Her covers had fairies and butterflies flying around it. Her rug was light pink and her walls were bare. A comfortable armchair was put next to the shelf now filled with books. Both rooms were basically the same, what made them different were the details.

For a moment they worried if their bedrooms were too childish but thought against it: "They probably never had anything like it at the Dursleys" Sirius pointed out.

Remus' bedroom was light blue and quite simple, a shelf, a wardrobe, a desk, nothing much. Sirius was the same, just dark green and messier.

Sirius had improved his appearance as well. He shaved and got his hair cut a little below his chin, looking younger. His eyes were still haunted and he still had a sickish appearance but _'that's what Azkaban does to you'_ Remus thought wryly.

They found themselves apparating to Privet Drive early that morning. Remus couldn't get Sirius to understand that it was too early to knock on peoples door and he had to admit to himself that he wasn't trying _too_ hard. When they found #4 they stood there for a moment, then Remus rang the doorbell. Their feeling of something wrong that was getting harder to ignore each day, increased even more now and they were sure that it was not something silly it was indeed something terribly wrong here and Remus heart clenched painfully when he recognized the smell. Blood. Remus grew pale.

'Remus, what is it?' Sirius looked at him concerned.

Remus didn't answer but broke the door open and then, Sirius smelled the blood. They ran searching for the smell and found themselves in the kitchen with a horrible sight.

Phoenix lay almost unconscious next to the stove, her head bloodied and clothes soaked, her trousers were ripped and next to her was a frying pan. Harry was lying next to her, his mouth and nose bleeding and his leg at a strange angle. He was trying to get up from the floor but his leg wouldn't support him. It looked like he was trying to protect Phoenix from the view. And when they looked around, they saw who Harry was trying to protect his sister from, the big whale that was Vernon Dursley was holding a belt in a hand and a bloodied knife in the other.

'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?' Sirius screamed and grabbed his wand pointing it at the man's face. 'I SWEAR DURSLEY, TRY TO DO ANYTHING, TRY TO MOVE AT ALL AND I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU.'

'WHAT ARE YOU FREAKS DOING IN MY HOUSE? GET OUT! GET OUT NOW! I DON'T WANT PEOPLE FROM YOUR LOT NEAR ME OR MY FAMILY.'

'SHUT UP!' Sirius held his wand in Vernon's neck.

'Sirius!' Remus said and when Sirius looked at him, he saw that Remus looking not at Vernon or Sirius, but at Harry and Phoenix who were cringing in fear. In a second Sirius crossed the room and knelt next to them, with Remus right by his side. Harry tried to block Phoenix from their view but failed and let out a low cry.

'Shh pup, you're alright. We won't hurt you; we won't let him touch you or Phoenix ever again. It's me, Sirius. Shh calm down pup, I'm here now. Shh.' Sirius said in a soothing voice and was about to wipe Harry's tears when decided against it. He saw Remus trying to comfort Phoenix that was lying down behind Harry.

'Shh Phoenie, I won't hurt you cub. I promise. Calm down cub, I'm here now, Sirius is here. Shh you and Harry are safe, we are taking you home.'

'YOU WON'T TAKE THEM ANYWHERE! THE FREAKS ARE OUR NIECE AND NEPHEW, OUR RESPONSIBILITY AND THEY WILL STAY HERE!' Remus got up from Phoenix's side and walked towards Vernon, you could see a glimpse of the wolf trying to take control.

'Then why didn't you treat them like that huh you bloody monster? If I were you I would stay out of our way, unless you want to see what's left of your house in a matchbox.' Remus said in a low and dangerous voice and Vernon backed away, standing beside his wife and son that were shaking in the corner of the room. Remus then looked at Sirius who was trying to comfort both of the twins. 'I'm going to get their things.' Sirius nodded and Remus left the room, following Harry and Phoenix's scents. He found himself facing a cupboard under the stairs. 'Impossible.' He said to himself trying to believe it. But when he opened the door he found a small blood stained cot and some clothes on the floor. He couldn't believe that two thirteen years old teenagers could fit in there, but the blood and smell told him that it was possible. There was no sign of their trunks and he wouldn't take any of that. When he walked empty handed to the kitchen he saw that the Dursleys weren't there and that both of the twins were unconscious.

'Where are the monsters?'

'I don't know. It's better for them they are not here. The only thing that kept me from killing him were Harry and Phoenie.' He growled.

Remus shook his head. 'You would be no use for them in Azkaban, Sirius.' Then, Sirius sighed and looked down.

'You're right. Where are their trunks?'

'Couldn't find them. They are not in the _cupboard_.'

'In the WHAT?' Sirius jumped.

'Later, we have to go. They're losing too much blood.'

Sirius nodded and summoned their trunks, who came banging on the walls towards him. He shrunk and put them in his pocket. Then, he bent down and picked Harry up carefully as Remus did the same with Phoenix.

'He weighs as light as a feather.' Sirius frowned.

'Did you expect different after what you saw?' Remus asked wryly.

Sirius shook his head and sighed. When they were leaving they saw the Dursleys in the drawing room.

'Sign this so we can go.' Sirius growled and, holding Harry with one arm, tossed the paper to Petunia who was about to say something but thought better of it and signed, passing it to Vernon who wasn't that intelligent.

'I won't sign anything of your lot! They will stay here!'

Sirius flicked his wand and Dudley became a pig. 'Sign.' Sirius growled, blocking Petunia's screams. Vernon with a shaking hand signed the paper and it disappeared.

'The spell will wear off in 48 hours, until then have fun with your new son.' Sirius laughed dryly.

'Think about what Lily would have done if the roles were reversed, _Tuney_.' Remus said and then, they walked out of #4 and apparated home.

It was already a long day.

**A/N: Thank you so much for your feedback, it means a lot to me! I hope I was able to answer some of your questions, feel free to ask me about this story if you want to. (: **

**Please, if you like Sirius/Remus check out my other story. It's about Sirius daughter / Remus god daughter. "Fearful" Is its name.**


	3. Together

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling not me. I just own the characters you don't recognize.

**AU **

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 2: Together**

When they arrived home they put the twins on Sirius' bed, where Sirius conjured a wet cloth a proceeded to clean their faces. Remus flooed Hogwarts' Hospital Wing.

Sirius carefully cleaned their faces, afraid to hurt them even more. Sirius was never the careful type but somehow he found himself holding his breath as he cleaned the little girl's face. From the moment they were born, Sirius could feel the love emanating in his heart but now it was different, somehow it was even stronger than before and Sirius swore to himself that nothing would ever touch his little babies again.

Harry and Phoenix looked pale and sick. Blood hiding their beautiful looks, you could never say that they were thirteen year olds. How could that muggle do this to such sweet kids was beyond Sirius. He couldn't wait to have them both healed in his arms, to tell them how much he loved and cared about his them. It was entirely his fault, if he hadn't gone after the rat they wouldn't have had to live at the Dursleys' with their abusive Aunt and Uncle. Sirius sighed. _'Why isn't Remus back by now?' _They were losing too much blood. Sirius held their hands in his bigger ones and whispered: _'You will be okay. Remus and I will never let anything hurt you.' _It was then Sirius Black finally let his tears fall.

Regulus Leo Black didn't know his parents. His father, Regulus Arcturus Black, died before he was born and his mother, Cassandra Crouch soon after. So he lived with his Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius with his cousin Draco, that weren't actually his Aunt and Uncle, more like his father's cousin and cousin by marriage. They believed in the 'pure-blood supremacy' and tried to make Regulus believe in it since he could talk. But the problem was that they couldn't. Regulus couldn't see the point of this theory, really, why should your blood matter if is your mind that makes the difference. These pure-blooded hypocrites didn't know that at least one point in their previous generations there's muggle blood? Regulus snorted. His Uncle was one of the followers of Voldemort, they were called Death Eaters, and after the war got out of going to Azkaban claiming he was under the Imperius Curse. As if!

To Regulus' distaste, he had to act like a pure-blood git every time there was someone important in the Malfoy Manor or even at school. And with it came having to spend time with his dreadful cousin Draco and his trollish body guards. Draco wasn't always like that, only after Regulus was labelled as a blood traitor. Telling the truth, when they were little they were like brothers. His Aunt and Uncle knew he thought that their beliefs were rubbish and didn't like him. They told him enough, or his Uncle did. But Regulus couldn't embarrass his Aunt and Uncle that way and spoil their reputation in the Wizarding Society, so he had to pretend that. "Mudbloods" were filth; blood traitors were in the same level as the first –even if he was called one; Slytherin was the only house that you should be in – he was almost a Raven but when he was eleven he was too afraid to stand up to his relatives and Slytherin wasn't that bad, not all snakes were evil, but thanks to Voldemort, people instantly assumed that; Potter was an attention seeking prat and his sister was a freak; and that Albus Dumbledore was a crazy old coot. And that's why he was shocked when he received a letter from the man this morning.

The new elf, Mikka – the last one was freed by the 'Potter brat' – called him for breakfast as she did since she arrived here. Regulus sighed, she was nice but nothing compared to Dobby, Dobby was the only one who really liked Reggie in the Malfoy Manor, _"Well... I suppose Aunt Narcissa doesn't hate me _that_ much." _He thought as he walked through the several corridors in his way to the dining room. He only back from Hogwarts three days ago and already missed the castle, it was his home. When he entered the dining room his relatives were already there.

'Good morning.' They returned with a nod.

'What took you so long?' His Uncle asked with the usual sneer.

Regulus was really tempted to say that if they hadn't put him in the other side of the Manor he would have been there sooner. "I'm sorry Uncle. You have my word that it won't happen again." Lucius nodded and they proceeded to eat breakfast while hearing Draco tell how was his year at Hogwarts or what Potter and his freak sister did this time. Regulus rolled his eyes. Suddenly an owl entered the room and stopped in front of Regulus. _'Strange'_ Regulus thought. _'I never receive any letters.'_ He stood still staring at the owl when his cousin interrupted his thoughts.

'Won't you read it, _cousin_?' Draco looked slightly curious.

Regulus opened the letter and read it.

'_Dear Mr. Black,_

_I don't know if it is of your knowledge but your Uncle, Sirius Black, was freed by the ministry three days ago. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew. Your father appointed, in his wil,l that if anything happened to him or your mother Sirius should be your legal guardian, but with the events that occurred and the war it wasn't possible. _

_Your Uncle says he would like to meet you and hopefully be part of your life. However, you don't have to feel like you're obligated to meet him or live with him._

_Send me an answer by return owl._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Bryan Wulfric Dumbledore'_

Regulus stared open mouthed at the letter. Surely he had seen his Uncle was freed, it was all over the paper and his Aunt and Uncle wouldn't stop complaining about the blood traitor, but he would never imagine the man would like to meet him or would like Regulus to live with him. Regulus face broke into a smile and he looked at his relatives. He couldn't put his cool mask back in place no matter what.

'May I be excused?' He asked and his aunt nodded.

'Who's the letter from?'

'Albus Dumbledore, he is asking if I'd like to meet my Uncle Sirius now that he was freed.'

Bingo! Regulus left the room chuckling quietly at the looks on his relatives' faces.

Remus jumped out the fireplace at Hogwarts' Hospital Wing. He found himself face to face with Severus Snape the Potions Master and Madam Pomfrey the mediwitch.

'Poppy! Please come quickly!' Remus said panicked and Severus Snape frowned, he has never seen Lupin lose control of his emotions.

'What's happened Remus?' She asked.

'Harry... Phoenix... hurt... abuse... Uncle...' Remus sentences weren't even sentences but somehow Severus and Poppy understood what was going on.

'Where are they?' Poppy asked in a full healer mode.

'At home.' Remus resumed what happened and told them, and both the professor and the mediwitch said they would go after him to the Manor, Remus didn't even comment when Severus said he would get some potions. Remus then flooed back and ran upstairs. Only to find his best friend crying and his cubs still unconscious.

He put a hand on Sirius shoulder and said in a shaky voice. 'How are they Siri?' Sirius shook his head and buried it in his hands. 'Poppy and Severus are coming.' And soon enough they heard the noise of the floo. They heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs as they got closer to the room. When Severus and Poppy entered the room they stared frozen at the bloodied twins but soon snapped out of it and began to clean their wounds and cast diagnostic spells. The most bizarre thing that happened was that Sirius didn't even open his mouth when his school enemy entered his bedroom, he just wanted his pups to be fine and if Snivellus would be able to help heal them, so be it.

They helped both the mediwitch and the Potions Master especially Remus, who knew quite a bit about healing, being a werewolf. After two hours of healing, cleaning, dressing wounds and a lot of spells it was over.

'We did what we could; they are not 100% though. Their magical cores are overwhelmed and if we force it, it might be dangerous.' Severus said and they nodded.

'Phoenix was worse than Harry, she had scars as you could see all over her body, her spine was damaged, right leg and ribs broken and a concussion as well as a strained muscle on her right side and third degree burns. A few bones that healed wrong and wounds infected. Harry had his left leg broken in three places, his shoulder was dislocated, concussion and broken jaw. Their wounds are infected and they are malnourished as well as a lot shorter and lighter than a kid their age should be.'

Sirius tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall and asked with a shaky voice. 'Will they be alright?'

Severus looked at the man seeing for the first time not the school boy but a concerned parent. This was starting to disturb him, first the twins that had a terrible childhood like Severus and now Black. 'Yes.' Severus noticed his voice was shaky as well. He coughed and answered with his normal voice, only without the sneer. 'Yes, they will be fine. I'll send you some potions for them and they are to stay in bed for as long as possible, especially Phoenix, her thigh muscle will take longer to heal.' Sirius nodded.

'Is there... Is there anything wrong with Phoenix's vocal chords?'

Severus shook his head. 'Only lack of use, they are almost in state of paralysis. Why do you ask Remus?'

'Did you ever hear her talk? Any of you?' Remus looked from Severus to Poppy that looked slightly disturbed.

'N-no.' Said Poppy. 'She never came to the Hospital Wing, only to visit her brother I mean. What disturbs me the most is that I never noticed any of the signs.' She buried her head in her hands.

'Is not your fault Poppy. We both know that they were clever enough to use concealment charms.' Only they shouldn't, Remus added in his mind.

'She never talked in my class either, now that I think of it.' Severus said looking guilty. When he looked at the girl, the only thing he could see was Lily and nothing else. 'I suppose that was her relatives' fault, the muscle strengthening potion will help with it but you've got to get her to talk or she might never talk again.'

Remus and Sirius nodded as Severus and Poppy walked towards the door.

'Thank you Severus and Poppy. We really appreciate it what you did for them, we owe you.'

They nodded.

'In a few days one of us will come to see how they're doing. Don't hesitate to floo call us if there's any problem.'

And with that they left the room, Severus Snape as a changed man.

Hours later, Remus and Sirius were sitting beside Sirius' bed were the twins were sleeping. Then Sirius opened his mouth for the first time since Severus and Poppy left.

'This is my fault.' He said what was bothering him so much.

'No it isn't Sirius. You couldn't know, you were in Azkaban for twelve years-'

'Exactly! If I hadn't gone looking for the rat I wouldn't have spent twelve years in Azkaban. They would've lived with us, they would've had an amazing childhood and none of this would've happened! If I had stayed with them in the first place they wouldn't have gone to the Dursleys and we would've been able to take care of them. I choose revenge over my god son and god daughter.'

'Then it is my fault as well Sirius. I was here the whole time, free, but didn't get them, nor check on them. And I spent a whole year with them and didn't notice anything.'

'You couldn't! You didn't mean to get bitten; it's not your fault that you're a werewolf!'

'It is not your fault that you ended up in Azkaban or that Lily and James died Sirius! Don't you think I noticed that you blame yourself? Or that you wake up screaming James name and apologizing? You couldn't have known! You have to allow yourself to grieve Sirius, only then it will be gone.'

'I grieved enough Remus, I spent twelve years grieving! Don't you think that's enough?'

'Replaying your worst memories in your head isn't grieving Sirius, nor healthy! Do you think James would be happy to see you blaming yourself? He agreed with you, he thought that Peter would be the perfect bluff. If there's someone to blame is Peter and Voldemort. Not you, not me. Them.'

Sirius then broke down, he sobbed in his hands; Remus got up and hugged his best friend, trying to comfort him beyond words. Sirius kept saying 'We thought you were the traitor. It's entirely my fault.' And Remus kept rubbing his back, like he would do to a child. They both had been through enough and would get through it together.

After a while Sirius' tears stopped and he pulled away from Remus. He looked embarrassed at breaking down in front of him, but Remus just smiled. 'Better Padfoot?'

'Yeah, Moony. Sorry for your shirt.' Remus waved away his apology and cast a drying spell in his shirt. 'That's what friends are for Padfoot and if you need anything, someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come to me okay?' Sirius nodded. 'Good.'

That moment an owl entered the room and stopped in front of Sirius. Sirius opened the letter and read out loud.

'_Dear Sirius,_

_I received a letter from your nephew, Regulus, saying that he'd love to meet you and to let you be a part of his life. Your meeting is arranged to tomorrow 10 a.m. at the Malfoy Manor._

_Let me know if it's alright for you and I think your nephew would be delighted to receive a letter._

_Yours,_

_Albus Dumbledore.'_

Sirius face broke into a smile as he looked at Remus. 'I'll meet my nephew tomorrow! He wants me to be a part of his life; maybe he can come and live here... I mean if that's okay with you.'

Remus chuckled. 'Of course it is okay with me you great mutt. He is a good boy, nothing like his cousin. And besides, Harry and Phoenix could do with a new friend as well as Regulus, he seemed rather lonely.' Sirius frowned then smiled and nodded. He summoned parchment and quill to write two letters; he wrote Albus' but when it was time to write his nephew's he didn't know what to say.

'I don't know what to write!'

Remus snorted. 'Of course you don't. I'm the one who knows things remember?' Sirius stuck his tongue and proceeded to write.

'_Dear Reggie,_

_Here is your Uncle Sirius. I'm writing to say that I can't wait to meet you tomorrow. I need to say that I feared you wouldn't want to. _

_I'll be at your Aunt and Uncle's house tomorrow at 10 a.m. _

_Yours, _

_Sirius Black.'_

Sirius then sent the two letters with a smile on his face. He would finally see his little brother's son, and hopefully bring him home. He had never seen little Reggie, when he was born Regulus had already died and in the war, he couldn't get him. Also Cassandra, his brother's affair, wouldn't let him meet his nephew.

But now everything would be fine. Harry and Phoenie were safe, Remus was here, Sirius was free and Regulus might be coming home tomorrow. Sirius was afraid it was all part of a wonderful dream and when he woke up he would be in his cell in Azkaban.

Sirius thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone moaning and trashing on the bed. Remus and Sirius were on Phoenix's side at the same moment and began to say soothing words. The crying girl suddenly opened her eyes and stared at them, quickly closing her eyes again and trembling. Harry then woke up and pulled his little sister close, so that her head was resting on his chest. Sirius and Remus sat on the edge of the bed and both twins looked at them. Harry was the first to speak.

'S-Sirius? Professor Lupin? W-Where are we? W-Why are you here? The Dursleys, they will be mad! Y-You have to go.' Harry started to get worked up and Sirius shushed him.

'You're safe pup; you won't go back to the Dursley's ever again. Remus and I won't let anyone hurt you or Phoenix.'

'B-But Sirius. T-The Ministry is after you. Y-you can't go back to Azkaban.' Harry looked scared and Phoenix moved closer.

'Sirius is free, Harry. You and Phoenix will never have to go back to the Dursleys. They won't hurt you, Sirius and I will take care of you. You're not alone.'

'F-Free?'

'Yes, I was freed four days ago.'

Harry seemed to process the information then he looked angry, hurt and... Disappointed.

'Why didn't you come then, why did you leave us at the Dursleys? You don't have to let us live here for pity. We managed thirteen years, we can manage three more. You're not obligated to take care of us.'

'Pup, I love you both more than you can imagine. Remus loves you too. You're our life now, you're what matters. We didn't come to get you sooner because we didn't have a house, we didn't have anything. We went as soon we could. Believe me, if we'd know what was going on we wouldn't have left you there. I'm sorry, if I could go back in time I would, if I could change the past I wouldn't hesitate. But I'm here now, we are here now and we aren't planning on going anywhere for a long time. We want to take care of you if you let us; we want to help you heal. You're my pups and Remus' cubs now and this is what matters.'

Both of them nodded as they cried.

'Come here, Phoen.' Remus asked smiling and Phoenix looked at him scared. 'Come on, I won't hurt you, I promise.' She slowly crawled towards him grimacing in pain and stopped, unsure of what to do. Remus then gently and carefully sat her on his lap where she flinched and sat tense as he rocked her back and forth. He looked at Sirius that was smiling at him with Harry on his arms; he too was rocking the boy. They knew they would be fine, no matter what, they still had each other and that's what mattered. They would help Harry and Phoenix and they would have each other, they would stick together through everything and anything.

Miles away, a black haired boy put a letter on his bedside table and laid down on his bed with a smile on his face, letting his mask slip for the second time that day. Maybe he would get the family he always wanted, someone who loved him for who he was and wanted to be near him. Someone that was so close, yet so far away.

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner. I had a major 'writer's block' and couldn't write anything on this story. Until my friend Debora and I came with the idea of Regulus today at school and fell in love with him. Thank you btw Debs. **

**I also want to thank everyone who reviewed or added this fan fiction to Story Alert, Favourite Story or even added ME as a Favourite Author. You don't know how happy you make me when you click in one of these buttons.**

**If you have any questions/suggestions or want to talk review or PM me but please there's no need to be mean or anything. I'd love to talk to you guys and I hope you liked this chapter, I really loved it.**

**Wish me luck guys, tomorrow I'll take two English tests to see if I can study abroad next year. ;)**

**Ohh****and**** ****just**** ****to**** ****let**** ****you**** ****know**** ****I**** ****changed**** ****my**** ****name**** ****to**** ****The**** ****Girl**** ****Who**** ****Dreamed**** ****;)**

**CHAPTER**** ****REVIEWED!**


	4. Regulus

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. I only own the characters you don't recognize.**

**AU**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

Chapter 3: Regulus

Regulus was an early riser but today he woke up earlier than usual. He would meet his Uncle and –hopefully- leave the Malfoy Manor for good. But did his Uncle Sirius really want him to live with him or he felt obligated to? He would never know, but Reggie hoped it was the first option.

'Get a grip of yourself Regulus, why should it matter now? It never did.' He told himself.

'_That's because you never thought it would happen. _'Another voice in his head answered.

'I'm still having trouble believing it.' He said to himself softly.

He sat up in the bed a reread the letter his Uncle sent him for the tenth time now. He really hoped that everything would work out fine today and he would get the family he wanted. He promised himself that he wouldn't spoil it.

Sirius woke up with the crack of dawn and looked around. Oh right, he slept in the chair in his bedroom.

Late last night an owl brought all Harry's and Phoenix's potions and before they went to bed Remus and Sirius gave the twins a dose Dreamless Sleep Potion, courtesy of Professor Severus Snape, but even knowing that both their godchildren were fine, safe and would probably sleep the whole night long, they couldn't leave them alone. Remus and Sirius could've easily put a charm to alert them if one of the twins was close to wake up or expanded the bed to fit the four of them but didn't, the twins were scared enough and who knows what happened besides the physical abuse at #4 Privet Drive.

Harry and Phoenix didn't talk much and flinched at every move. They were visibly in pain but refused to tell anything to Remus and Sirius. They just stayed curled up next to each other. The abuse at their relatives' house seemed irreparable and Sirius swore that if there was a way to make it better, he would find it and Harry and Phoenix would be like any other teen soon.

It was really surprising that Sirius woke up before Remus, the latter one was the early riser, not Sirius, but last days events and the nervousness of what was to come made him wake up.

He stood up and was startled when his back cracked. _'You're getting old Sirius.' _He thought amused. He then walked and checked both of the twins for a fever, he and Remus took turns doing it during the night. Severus told them that they might have because of the infected wounds.

He snorted. _'Since when Snivellus is Severus?' _and another voice in his head said. _'Since he saved Harry and Phoenix's lives.'_

'Now I'm talking to myself.' Sirius shook his head. When he was sure that both of the twins were alright his mind wondered to another teenager that soon, he hoped, would come and live here as well. Sirius told the twins about it and they, no. _Harry_ said that Regulus hadn't done anything to any of the twins and they were okay with it and Phoenix nodded. Sirius would really like to know if it was the truth or if Harry was telling what he thought he wanted to hear, he seemed startled when Sirius asked their opinion after all. This was so confusing!

Sirius took a long shower and dressed in plain navy blue robes. When he left his bathroom he saw that Harry, Phoenix and Remus were up, his shower took longer than he thought.

'Good morning.' Sirius said getting their attention. He smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. 'Did you sleep well?' Both the twins nodded. 'Are you hungry?' Phoenix and Harry looked at each other unsure of what to say, their Uncle used to ask this when they were little and when they answered he would beat them but Sirius wouldn't do that, would he?

'That's okay. You won't get punished for being hungry, we won't hurt you.' Remus said looking at them as if reading their thoughts. They nodded and Remus got up. 'I'll cook breakfast.'

'I-I can do it.' Harry and Phoenix sat up and were about to get out of the bed when Remus and Sirius made them lay down again.

'You both have to rest. Besides, I'm sure Remus' food is edible enough.' Sirius smiled but the twins didn't.

'B-but we _have_ to cook; it's one of our chores.' Harry said exasperatedly.

'Not anymore. Not any of the Dursley's rules applies here cub, and you won't go back there, _ever_. We will have to talk about it later by the way. The same goes for you Phoenix. Just worry about getting better okay?' Remus said reaching out slowly to ruffle Harry's and stroke Phoen's hair but in a way that they wouldn't think he would hit them, but they still tensed and flinched at the touch. Remus then sighed and left the room. Sirius noticed the twins tense when Remus said they would have to talk and changed the subject it was no use worrying now.

'Are you feeling better? Does anywhere hurts?' Sirius looked between the twins. Harry shook his head and Phoenix got closer to her twin. 'Are you _sure_? You can tell me, you won't get in trouble for it. We want to help you but you have to tell us what hurts so we can make it better.' Sirius looked in Harry's eyes then in Phoenix's and only saw fear there. Sirius sighed as Remus entered the room levitating a big tray with food for the four of them. He put the tray in the middle of the bed and summoned the potions the twins had to drink now.

'Here, drink this.' Remus gave each of them the potions they needed to drink. 'These are for you Harry. Nourishing Potion and this one is for the infection. Now these Phoenix are the same as Harry's but you'll also have to drink this one; it's Muscle Strengthening for you thigh and your vocal chords okay?' They both nodded and drank the potion, trying their hardest not to make a face and make their god fathers mad. Remus and Sirius shared a look.

Sirius apparated to the Malfoy Manor feeling more nervous that he would care to admit. The house was huge with an elaborate garden and albino peacocks. It was the typical pure-blood manor, except for the albino peacocks, only Lucy could think of that. Sirius snorted.

It was now or never, the gates opened and Sirius stepped in the garden, walking towards the door that seemed so far away. He knocked and his cousin opened the door with a fake smile on her face.

'Hello Cissy.' Sirius took her hand and kissed it.

'Hello Sirius. You're as charming as ever, I see.' Sirius grinned. 'Come in cousin. Regulus will be coming soon.' Narcissa led her cousin to the drawing room and they sat across each other.

'Where's Lucy?' Sirius asked with a smile and Narcissa sent him a look that could make anyone tremble in fear, except for him of course, he lived sixteen years with his mother after all.

'Why?'

'Beg pardon?' Sirius asked bewildered.

'Why do you want to meet Regulus?'

'Why wouldn't I? He is my nephew after all and Regulus appointed, in his will that I should take care of his son if anything happened to him.' Narcissa nodded.

'Mikka!' A house-elf appeared in a pop. 'Tell Regulus to come now.' The elf nodded and popped out of the room. Sirius looked around the room, it was dark but it was beautiful in its own ways. The crystal chandelier descending from the ceiling stood out in the almost empty room but even if it was beautiful it wasn't... homey.

'Did you call, Aunt?' Sirius turned to the door with a crack on his neck. There stood a boy dressed in dark green robes that looked so much like his little brother and consequently like him. He had black hair and grey eyes and his aristocratic looks stood out in the solemn expression. Sirius stood up and the boy looked at him, his eyes betraying his emotions. Wonder... apprehension... hope... you could read the boy's soul through his eyes.

'Your Uncle is here.' Narcissa gestured towards Sirius and Regulus walked towards him. Sirius smiled.

'Hello sir, it is a pleasure to meet you.' Regulus extended his hand but Sirius grabbed him for a hug. Regulus stood still not knowing what to do but soon relaxed in his uncle's embrace and hugged back awkwardly. He took a look at his Aunt Narcissa's face; she was staring at them with a disapproving glare probably because _'__you__have__to__leave__your__personal__life__for__when__you__are__alone__'_, but he could see that it was fake. He wasn't hugged much; in fact he couldn't remember that last time someone hugged him. His Uncle taught them since they could talk, that a pure-blood shouldn't show his emotions or affection. Meaning: pure-bloods should act like insensible and heartless gits. Sirius then pushed Regulus away and bent down to take a better look at the small boy.

'Merlin! You look just like your father did when he was your age.' Sirius brushed Regulus hair out of his eyes with his thumb and looked him in the eyes.

'Thank you sir.' Regulus nodded. He heard it a few times when his father's old friends came to visit the Malfoys but they told it in a way that made Regulus shiver. This time it felt different, he felt warm inside.

'Oh drop the formalities Reggie and don't call me sir, please. Sir was my father, it makes me feel old.' Regulus smiled slightly and looked down mouthing Reggie; it felt good having a nickname. He'd never had one before, only if you count Draco's nickname for him but he didn't hear it for years.

'I will leave both of you alone.' Narcissa then walked out of the room.

Sirius nodded and when his cousin left he plopped on the couch, Regulus sat stiffly next to him.

'So Reggie, tell me more about you.' Regulus looked at his Uncle bewildered. No one has ever bothered to ask more about him. But what did his Uncle wanted to hear?

'My name is Regulus Leo Black, I'm fourteen years old. I'm in Slytherin House.'

'Wait, you're in Slytherin?' Sirius interrupted and seeing his nephew looking down he swore to himself that he wouldn't make the same mistakes he did with his brother. He wouldn't push his nephew away just because of some stupid house prejudice. 'It doesn't matter to me pup.' Sirius put a hand on Regulus' shoulder. Regulus then let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and actually smiled. 'How about we play 20 questions?'

'Sorry... What?'

Sirius frowned at Regulus. 'It's a muggle game where people ask questions to each other.'

'Oh... okay.'

'Do you want to ask first?' Regulus shook his head. 'Okay... what's your favourite colour?'

'Blue.'

'Favourite subject?'

'Charms, Defence or Runes.'

'Do you play Quidditch? In your house team? Which position?'

'Yes, no and seeker.'

'Why aren't you in your house team?' Sirius asked frowning, Regulus was a great seeker and his son would be the same.

Regulus shrugged. 'My cousin bought his way in on our second year. He plays seeker.' Sirius frowned again.

They kept asking questions, getting to know each other. Regulus was much more comfortable around Sirius and even if he was still wearing his indifferent mask you sometimes could see it slip. They could relate, both of them grew up in a pure-blood household but were what they called blood-traitors.

'So Regulus...' Sirius hesitated. 'How do you like it here?'

Regulus shrugged. 'Is not that bad I mean despite this whole pure-blood thing. Aunt Narcissa can be nice when she wants to. And Draco and I used to be like brothers until we both went to Hogwarts and I was labelled a blood-traitor when I learned what my Uncle truly did in the war and what they want us to become.'

'Err... And your Uncle... did he ever...'

'Hit me?' Regulus interrupted. 'No. He wouldn't touch me, it wouldn't do any good to his reputation and I think he still hoped I would come back to 'the right side'.' Sirius nodded relieved; at least Regulus had a decent family.

'Reggie.' Sirius swallowed and ran a hand through his head, a nervous habit. 'I know we don't know each other well but I wanted to be a part of your life if you'd let me.' Regulus then smiled fidgeting with his hands and Sirius continued nervously. 'I was wondering... I mean... if you'd want to come and live with me now that I'm a free man. I don't know if you know that but your father appointed me as your guardian if anything happened to him. I don't want you to feel obligated, I will understand if you want to stay here, after all your Aunt and Uncle raised you when I couldn't but...'

'Uncle Sirius-' Regulus interrupted and Sirius smiled at the title. 'Do you really want that? The same goes to you, you don't have to feel like you _have to_ take me in.'

'Reggie, I really do want that.' Sirius said softly and looked into his nephew's grey eyes so much like his own.

'Then when do I move?' Regulus grinned, and for the first time it reached his eyes.

'Are you serious?' Sirius asked smiling.

'No, you are.' Sirius groaned, then chuckled; it was his brother that came up with that overused pun. 'Of course I am. It's not like I love this pure-blood rubbish.' Regulus rolled his eyes.

'Sure thing kiddo.' Sirius ruffled his nephew's hair and gave him a one-armed hug. 'Hm... There's something I need to talk to you about.' Regulus nodded, suddenly quiet. 'Do you know your former Defence professor? Remus Lupin?' Regulus nodded, Professor Lupin was his favourite professor but Regulus was the only Slytherin who thought he was great, especially after the werewolf secret that his head of house let 'slip'. Regulus had already figured out what was going on before Snape told everyone but decided against telling people, he wouldn't ruin someone else's life. He never said he fitted in his house. 'He lives with me, as well as my godson and goddaughter. Harry and Phoenix Potter.' Regulus nodded and Sirius let out a breath. 'Do you mind?'

'Not at all. They never did anything against me so I don't have any reason to dislike them. We take a few classes together, especially Phoenix but we never talked. But what about them, do they mind?'

Sirius smiled shaking his head. 'They said the same thing about you. Or Harry did...' Sirius said to himself but Regulus heard and couldn't stop wondering what that was about. 'Err... Harry and Phoenix err... went through a lot this summer and err... they are still recovering from it. They will be quiet for a while but I know that you will like each other.' Regulus nodded. 'So... what about I come tomorrow with all the papers that Cissy and Lucy need to sign?'

'Okay.' Regulus chuckled of the nicknames; he doubted his Uncle Lucius would like his.

'So, can you call your Aunt so we can tell her?' Sirius smiled sheepishly.

'Mikka?' Regulus said softly and the same elf from earlier appeared. 'Could you please tell my Aunt that Uncle Sirius wants to talk to her? Thank you.' The elf nodded and disappeared.

Sirius smiled at the boy that reminded him so much of his brother.

'Do you wish to talk Sirius?' Narcissa entered the room and looked between Sirius and Regulus with a sore expression. Sirius and Regulus stood up; they were raised as pure-bloods after all.

'Yes cousin. I talked to Regulus and he agreed to come and live with me. You know about Regulus' wish and I assure you that it is mine as well and that my nephew will be in good hands.' Sirius put an arm around Regulus and the latter unconsciously leaned into the touch. Narcissa nodded. 'Tomorrow around noon I will be back with all the papers that you and Lucius need to sign but I'm sure it won't be much and everything will go smoothly. Also, since I'm the Lord of the House of Black, it won't take long.'

'I will inform Lucius of the time.'

Sirius nodded and turned to Regulus, kneeling down. 'So pup I will be back tomorrow to get you.' Regulus nodded and Sirius kissed his forehead and embraced him taking Regulus by surprise. Regulus nodded and hugged back awkwardly, he would – hopefully- have to get used to all this affection.

'Okay.' Regulus smiled.

'Bye Narcissa. Bye Reggie.' Sirius nodded at her and gave one last hug on his nephew and left the room accompanied by his Aunt.

**A/N: So... What do you think? I was pretty disappointed with the lack of reviews/alerts on the last chapter but I decided to post anyway. I hope you like Regulus, he is my favourite character to write and I have big plans for him. **

**Anyway... I just ask you to please review if you like, have any suggestions or want to see something on the next chapter (I will do what I can to put what you asked on it) but please say something. I get really lost when people don't review because I don't know what I can do to make the next chapter better and I kinda feel discouraged.**

**Lots of love,**

**M**

**CHAPTER REVIEWED!**


	5. Behind the Walls

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. If I did, Sirius and Remus would be alive. I own everything you recognize. Enjoy :)**

**AU**

***mentions of sexual abuse.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 4: Behind the Walls**

When Sirius apparated home he was surprised to see Remus in the drawing room. 'Where are they? Is everything okay?' Sirius looked at Remus concerned face.

Remus nodded and looked down, fidgeting with his hands. 'She won't talk to me Sirius. She won't talk to anyone. They keep flinching every time I move as if I would... _hit them_.' He whispered the last word and looked at Sirius with hopeless eyes.

Sirius sat down beside his best mate - no, brother - and put a hand on his shoulder. He'd never seen Remus so helpless. 'It will be alright Moony. We will help them-' Sirius was interrupted by a blood freezing scream and both men ran towards Sirius bedroom to find Phoenix having some kind of convulsion during her sleep. She was covered in vomit and blood was coming out of her nostrils. 

'No! Please Uncle Vernon, no!' She cried and Sirius and Remus hearts shattered when they heard her melodic voice in pain. Harry was beside her, trying to wake her up but couldn't. He was shaking and pale, tears running down his cheeks. He looked at them, looking much younger and hopeless and whispered as the tears fell: 'Help her.'

These two simple words had an extreme effect on both men. Remus gathered his goddaughter in his arms trying to hold her still and whispered soothing words, Sirius was holding her arms with one hand and with the other one he was holding Harry's shaking hand.

'Shh Phoenie, wake up. It's just a bad dream, your uncle isn't here. He won't touch you, he won't hurt you ever again. I promise. I'm here for you my cub. Shh' Remus pleaded.

'Shh little Phoenie, it's not real. He won't hurt you, he's not here. Come on puppy.' Sirius said his voice cracking.

'P-Please Phoenie wake up for me. Don't leave me alone, you're all I have.' Harry's speech broke Sirius and Remus hearts. 'O-open your eyes for me Phoenie.' Harry was crying over his sister's convulsing form. Sirius gathered Harry in his arms, ignoring his flinch and rocking him slightly. Harry buried his head on Sirius neck sobbing and was clinging to his shirt desperately.

Soon Phoenix's screams stopped.

'Phoenix please, open your eyes for me cub. That's okay, it's over. No one will hurt you.' Phoenix opened her eyes and saw her godfather's concerned face looking down at her. He was rocking her in his arms despite her vomit soaked clothes. When she tried to pull away he held her closer and ran a hand through her hair.

'Shh that's okay Phoenix. I won't hurt you baby.' She then started to cry even more while Remus rubbed her back and whispered soothing words. She struggle to get away, still haunted by her dream but when she realized it wasn't her uncle that was trying to hold her she gave in and buried her face on Remus chest. Remus kept whispering soothing words and rubbing her back. After a while her tears stopped, she tried to break free of Remus embrace but before she could Remus was standing with her on his arms.

'Let's get you cleaned up, cub. You'll feel better after that.' He sat her on the toilet with the lid closed and put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her shaking body. 'I'll get something for you.' he left and came back a few minutes later with transfigured pyjamas. – _'Note: Take them to London to buy them clothes later.'_ - He got a wet cloth and proceeded to clean her face as much as he could. 'Why don't you change cub? If you need anything just ask. I'll be right outside.' He leaned forward to kiss her forehead but she pushed away not seeing the hurt expression on her godfather's face.

Remus left her to change and performed a cleaning spell on himself. Sirius was changing the bed clothes and Harry was sitting on a chair hugging his knees while he watched Sirius with a tear stained face. Remus walked towards him and knelt down. 

'Are you okay cub?' 

Harry nodded. 'Phoenix?' 

'She's changing. She will be fine cub, you both will be fine.' Remus kissed Harry's head –ignoring his tense body - and went to help Sirius. 

'Is she okay?' Sirius whispered so Harry couldn't hear them. 

Remus shook his head. 'It's worse than I thought.' 

'I don't know what to do Remus.' Sirius looked at him desperate. 

'Neither do I Sirius. But we'll find a way to help them.' He tried to convince himself as well, they _had to_ find a way. Just as they finished with the bed, Phoenix came limping out of the bathroom dressed in the light pink pyjamas. He smiled at her as he saw a black haired blur running in her direction.

Harry stopped in front of his sister and looked her from head to toe, as if trying to see something wrong. 

'What happened?' he asked concerned and she shook her head looking at Sirius and Remus but when she saw them staring at them as well she looked down. Harry tried to look into her mind but he found himself facing one of her blocked memories. Phoenix shook her head again. 

'Come here, pups.' Sirius called and they walked tense towards him, they knew better than to not do what they were told. 'You can sit you know?' Sirius tried to joke but the twins didn't smile. They sat in the far corner of the bed and Sirius sighed. 

'Are you alright, Phoenix?' 

'S-So-Sorry.' Phoenix said quietly, it was the only word she was allowed to say. 

'Don't apologize. You had no control over it. We are just happy you are okay.' Remus said sharing a glance with Sirius. 

'We need to talk pups.' Sirius said and both of the twins backed away and shrank trying to become smaller. It all started with a _talk_. 

Remus looked at Sirius and rolled his eyes. 'You are not in trouble.' He said kindly. 'We need to talk about what happened while you were living on your relatives' house. We know it will be difficult for you but you will feel better after talking.'

'We want to help you. I -we love you like you are our own kids. You are the most important people we have in our lives.' Sirius looked between Harry and Phoenix.

'W-Why?' Harry looked at him, his big green eyes bright with unshed tears.

'Because of whom you are. You are kind, have a good heart. You are brave, caring, and generous. It has nothing to do with the Twins-Who-Lived.' Remus said looking intensely at the twins.

'We love Harry and Phoenix Potter, son and daughter of our best friends, our god children. We love you like that since the moment we both held you.' Sirius said.

Harry shook his head. 'Y-You're lying! Y-You can't love us. We are freaks; freaks don't deserve to be loved. We are unworthy-' 

'You are NOT Harry, neither is your sister. Everything those muggles told you were lies, just lies.' Sirius said but Harry kept shaking his head. 'What can we do to prove you that we are telling the truth? We will never leave you, we will take care of you and nothing you can do or say will ever change that.' 

'I take Sirius' words as mine. Nothing can stop us loving you. You could do _anything _and we'll still want you. We care about you more than life itself.' Remus said.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. After thirteen miserable years someone came to save them? Why? They were just freaks. Their godfathers told them different but it was true. Their Uncle made sure of that with every beating and Harry had scars to prove it, more than visible scars.

Phoenix was in shock. Sirius and Remus appeared out of nothing in their lives, took them away from their relatives, were kind to them and now they were saying they loved them. Why would anyone love them? Why would they want them here if they were just burdens? _'This is just a dream'_ she told herself. _'No one would ever come to save them, or care for them. They were unworthy of it.'_ but somehow her heart felt different.

'We mean it.' Sirius said and deep down they believed him, they just didn't know it yet.

Remus cleared his throat. 'How long has the abuse going on?' Both Harry and Phoenix got closer to each other. Thinking the same thing: _'They will realise how freaks we are and send us away, or beat us.' _'Remember, nothing you say can make us leave you or send you away.' Remus stated as if he could read their minds.

Sirius knowing they wouldn't talk cleared his throat. 'I was sixteen when my father put me under the Cruciatus -the torture curse- for over ten minutes because I wouldn't join the Death Eaters – those were Voldemort's followers. My parents used to hex me since I became a Gryffindor and no one would care until I met the marauders. Every summer was like a nightmare to me but your grandparents welcomed me in their home and treated me as their own son. I went there after my father stopped the curse and left me bleeding to death. Nobody would do anything they told me I deserved the pain, to see my blood traitor blood soaking the floor of the House that he dishonoured, just like dust that would be cleaned away and nobody would know. I never thought anyone would care until your grandfather sat with me to talk. He said I would stay there, that the Potters cared about me and that they loved me like their own son. I told them that I didn't believe them, that they couldn't love me. He made me talk my heart out and I felt better after it. Trust me; I know what you're feeling like. Like no one will ever love you, and that we are mocking and lying to you but we are not. We love you like you're our own; I want to be for you what Charlus Potter was for me. We are not trying to take James' place, we would never do that. Just know that you are safe with us, you are loved and we want to help you. We would never hurt you or let you suffer in pain. You mean the world to us and we want you here by our side so we can protect you from harm. We won't leave you in the dark ever again.' When Sirius finished his tale he noticed that he was crying and he quickly wiped his tears. Phoenix was looking at him with a tear stained face and Harry was staring at him as if he never seen anything like it before. Remus put a hand on Sirius shoulder to let him know that he was there for him. He'd never heard the whole story. 'I ask you to trust us. We will help you if you let us.'

'Since we were three.' Harry answered quietly and then he told them everything with the support if his sister, he couldn't control what he was saying. About the cupboard, the beatings, the starving, how the Dursleys would say in school that they were sick and leave them locked up for days, how they had to do all the chores around the house, how they were freaks and no one would ever love them. How they deserved everything they got and that it was their fault their parents were dead and that they should have died that night so they wouldn't have to rely on people's generosity and burden them. In the end Harry and Phoenix were shaking while holding each other. Uncle Vernon would come and kill them now, he told them he would if they ever told a soul about what happened behind the walls of #4 Privet Drive.

'It was not your fault Lily and James died. You were our reason to fight in the war; I've never seen Lily and James happier than when you were born. They went into hiding because they wanted to protect you, they trusted the wrong person and that's why they died.' Remus said. 

'B-But if we weren't born they wouldn't have to go into hiding.' Harry stated. 

'If you weren't born they would have gone sooner. They were in Voldemort's top list, if you did anything was let them live a little longer.' Sirius said. 'I don't want to hear you saying that it was your fault that Lily and James died ever again do you hear me? They loved and love you more than everything and would willing die to save you a hundred times. Just like we would for you.' 

'Yes sir' Harry said quietly, but he didn't believe a word they said nor did his sister. They knew they were trying to make them feel better, why they were doing it they didn't know.

'And you aren't a burden. You are here because we want to take care of you. You deserve all the love in the world. What your aunt and uncle did was wrong, no one can harm a child and take their childhood away like they did. It is wrong. Sirius and I want to make sure that you live the childhood you should have had all those years.'

'And you aren't freaks. You are just kids and are special. You deserve to be loved and taken care of like any other child. We love you and we will make sure you know that.' 

'Did your relatives ever _touch you_ in any other way?' Remus asked uncomfortably after a minute of silence. 

Harry shook his head and they almost gave a sigh of relief when they saw Phoenix pale and start to shake, her eyes unfocused.

_'Come here dirty little freak. You little bitch; I will show you the one thing you are useful for.' Vernon grabbed her and threw her on the floor. He reached out to open her dress as a five year old Phoenix struggled to get out of his grip.  
>'P-Please Uncle Vernon! Don't do that! I will be good!'<br>He slapped her across the face. 'Shut the hell up bitch. And If I ever hear you speaking again you will get it worse.'  
><em>  
>'Phoenix!' she snapped out of her memory to see her brother's dull and at the same time full of tears green eyes staring at her. 'W-why didn't you told me?' He was crying with her now.<p>

'Y-Y-You saw?' Phoenix asked quietly. And Harry nodded.

'I should have known. It is my fault! I should have known something happened to make you stop talking. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!' Harry got up from the bed and Remus put a hand on his shoulder.

'Calm down cub and tell us what happened.' He looked concerned between Harry and Phoenix. Phoenix looked at Harry pleading but he didn't see.

'MY BLOODY UNCLE RAPED MY SISTER.' Harry cried.

Phoenix cringed in fear and looked down, tears streaming down her face. Remus and Sirius paled, ever if they already knew what Harry would say.

'Is this true, Phoenix?' Sirius asked; Remus was staring at her wide eyed. She was about to shake her head but saw the look he gave her. She nodded slightly. 'How old were you?' 

'F-Five.' She said quietly.

'Oh Merlin!' Remus took a deep breath. Both he and Sirius looked disturbed.

'Is that why you stopped talking?' Sirius looked at her with dull grey eyes. She nodded and looked down. 'Did he do it very often?' She didn't answer and they took it as yes.

'Oh pup! You are safe here, he is not here and we will never let him touch you again.' Sirius reached for her but she cringed away in fear.

'You will never have to worry about that. You will never see them again; we will take care of you okay? We want you to talk to us when you want or need anything, or just want to talk. We would never touch you or hit any of you. It is past now, we can't delete it but we can make them less painful with a bright future.' Remus said almost to himself. 'He couldn't take your innocence that way, you were just a baby, a-a kid. You are just a kid!'

She looked down as Harry stopped mumbling and sat again by her side. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. She recognized his touch and leaned into it.

'I'm sorry Phoenie.' He said with tears in his eyes. 

'D-Don't be Harry. I-It wasn't y-your fault.' She looked him in the eyes. 

'W-Why didn't you tell me?' He looked perturbed.

'I-I was scared he w-would do the same to you.' She said quietly so only Harry could hear.

'Y-you blocked these memories, so I couldn't know.' It wasn't a question. 'And every time he took you away...' He couldn't finish.

The silence after that was uncomfortable; no one knew what to say after these revelations.

'Are you feeling better?' Sirius asked trying to smile. They both nodded. 

'What about we give you a tour through your _home_?' Remus asked and got up, extending a hand for Harry as Sirius did the same to Phoenix, who was closer to him. Both twins took their hands carefully and hesitantly, in the beginning it was uncomfortable but after the shock they felt for the first time like they belonged somewhere. 

'We love you. We forever will.' Sirius and Remus said kissing the top of Harry and Phoenix's heads. Sirius then bent down and explained Phoenix what and why he would do – he hated that he had to explain such a simple thing to her so she wouldn't get frightened – and picked her up. Remus put his arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him close. Both did it very carefully, it would have to be like that. One step at a time and they knew that a little bit longer and they would be fine. 

-

Harry and Phoenix were ecstatic and couldn't believe what they were seeing when they entered their new bedrooms. Spending all their lives living in a cupboard under the stairs causes this to you. They didn't even touch anything until their god fathers told them it was alright. After both of them were sleeping in their own bed rooms –which fortunately were side by side - Remus and Sirius cast a monitoring spell to alert them if any of the twins were about to wake up and flooed to "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!"

'Sirius, Remus m'boys. What a pleasant surprise.' Albus Dumbledore smiled.

'I assure you Dumbledore that our reasons to come here are anything but pleasant.' Sirius growled under his breath.

'Please have a seat. To what do I owe your visit?'

'It's about Harry and Phoenix headmaster...' Remus started.

'A BLOODY CUPBOARD! THEY LOCKED _MY KIDS_ IN A BLOODY CUPBOARD!' Sirius cried without noticing his slip.

Dumbledore paled and for the first time they saw him speechless and his eyes without the same twinkle. 'What?'

Remus gave Sirius a look that clearly said 'let me do the talk'. 

'They locked them in a cupboard under the stairs, they starved them, and they beat them up! They abused them physically, emotionally and sexually!' Remus said in a low dangerous voice as his eyes turned amber, the wolf within him trying to get out.

'THEY ARE AFRAID OF TALKING! PHOENIX DOESN'T TALK BECAUSE OF WHAT THOSE BASTARDS YOU LET THEM WITH!' Sirius cried giving the headmaster a deathly glare.

'I assure you that I didn't know-'

'Didn't anyone notice the signs? Their friends? Their professors?' Remus said sceptically. And Dumbledore shook his head.

'Arabella Figg never reported me about anything out of the ordinary on #4 Privet Drive-'

'OF COURSE NOT! THEY BEAT THEM TO A PULP AND LOCKED THEM IN A CUPBOARD!'

'Calm down, Sirius.' Remus said.

'Don't ask me to calm down Remus, I can't calm down!' Sirius growled. 

'I trust you took them away?' Dumbledore asked already knowing the answer. 

'Of course we did.' Remus snapped at his mentor. 'And that blood protection be damned. They aren't setting a foot there ever again.' 

Dumbledore nodded. 'You are taking the Dursleys to court?'

'Of course.' Sirius said as he stood up to leave.

'I will arrange everything.' Dumbledore said determined to put the muggles in prison. 

'Thank you.' Remus said and Sirius nodded. They flooed back home leaving behind an old man who again failed a child, just like he did with his sister Arianna.

**A/N: Well... I really hope you liked it. I cried while writing this chapter. I believe that you might have read something like that about Sirius' life in other stories but I tried to make it the most original I could, I believe that it is what happened and so do other authors so it may seem alike. **

**If you have any questions/suggestions please review. And also review only to say if you liked it; every review means a lot to me. But please, there's no need to be mean, if you don't like it, don't review okay? **

**QUESTION: Would you like it if Sirius adopted the twins? (Remus is a lycanthrope. I believe that the most he can be is second guardian, unfortunately.)**


	6. Midnight Talk

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine ;)**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 5 – Midnight talk**

That night the dinner was quiet. Harry and Phoenix kept playing with the food, as if they were unsure if they could eat it, even after Remus and Sirius reassuring them it was okay. They were about to cook when Remus stopped them saying that they could burn themselves, Phoenix looked at him as if he had said that hippogriffs could talk. Nobody ever cared if she burned herself or not, it was the food they cared about. Remus and Sirius tried to include the twins in the conversation – even though their minds were on what happened earlier that day - but all the twins did was nod at the right moments.

Harry and Phoenix yawned at the same time and Sirius smiled.

'Let's get you upstairs shall we?' With that, Remus and Sirius took the drowsy twins upstairs, careful not to hurt them. Sirius put his goddaughter on her bed; Remus covered her as they both tucked her in. Harry sat on her bed and squeezed her hand, he looked at her with an unspoken question _"Are you going to be alright?"_ she nodded.

'Here, drink this.' Remus gave her a goblet of Dreamless Sleep Potion and she drank it without complain, she knew better. 'Goodnight sweetheart. I love you.' He kissed the top of her head, ignoring her tense body and stood up.

'Goodnight Flame.' Sirius smiled and stroke her head. It was his nickname for her when she was little. 'Love you; if you need anything call me or Remus alright?' She nodded, clearly overwhelmed of the amount of affection, her eyes closing as Harry kissed the top of her head and smoothed her covers.

'Night Phoenie. Love you.'

'Night Har. Love you too.' And her eyes closed as she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Harry stood up from the bed and smiled gratefully at his guardians. Sirius put an arm around his shoulders (ignoring Harry's flinch) and led him to his bedroom. Harry laid down, not expecting to be tucked in as well; he was a thirteen soon-to-be fourteen year old boy after all, even if he'd never been given this kind of comfort in his life. He couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through his body as Sirius took his glasses and ruffled his head.

'Night Emerald. Sleep tight, I love you.' Sirius seemed to hesitate but bent forward and kissed the top of Harry's head.

'Goodnight cub,' Remus said handing Harry a goblet that he emptied immediately. 'Love you.' He too ruffled Harry's hair. Harry tried his best to keep his eyes open, but it seemed impossible as the Potion took effect.

'Night...' He fell asleep.

Both men smiled fondly at the boy, he looked way younger when he was sleeping. They left the room and entered the bedroom that would be Regulus'. They decorated it just like Harry's except it was blue and the ceiling showed the night sky, focused on the Leo constellation. Then they both went to the drawing room and Remus lit up the fireplace while Sirius got the firewhiskey and poured it in two glasses. They both sank on the armchairs; Sirius gulped the contents of his glass and put in on the coffee table.

'I can't believe it Remus, I just can't. How someone can hit a child, their own niece and nephew! I wish I could just go there and commit the murder I was imprisoned for.'

'You can't Sirius. If you do that you'll go straight to Azkaban, and it won't do any good to Harry and Phoenix.' Remus said tiredly.

'I know, right?' Sirius snapped and Remus stared at him. 'Sorry, Remus. I'm just worried.'

'I know Sirius, I am too. I just want to let Moony free on Privet Drive next full moon.' Sirius then noticed that Remus' eyes were amber.

'I think it wasn't a great idea, bringing Regulus to live here. Not so soon, anyway.' Sirius put his head in his hands and sighed.

'No Sirius. Regulus needs you as well, your brother trusted you to take care of his son. It will be good for the twins to have someone their age that doesn't hate them. Regulus could use a friend too. Everything will work out fine, I believe in you. They believe in you.'

Sirius nodded and they sat in silence for a while, each one of them immersed in their own thoughts.

'I want to adopt them, Remus.' Sirius said what was bothering him and Remus looked at him, his eyes showing his pride. 'I-I've been thinking this since I met them. I decided now, but I don't want them to think I'm trying to replace James. I could never do that. I just want to make this permanent, so they know that I won't leave them, that we are family. I-I love them like my own.' Sirius stuttered and if it was another moment Remus would've laughed at the great Sirius Black nervous.

'I know, Padfoot, and I'm sure they won't think this. They need a father in their lives, James chose you to be their father if anything happened to them. He chose you to take care of them.'

'You're their godfather as much as I am.'

'Sirius... You know that I'm not. I'm a-'

'Bloody werewolf. I know. That didn't matter for Lily and James, nor to me and you know bloody well that Harry and Phoenix don't care. So don't even try to shut yourself out from us, we won't let you.'

Remus nodded, even if he wanted to shut himself out, he couldn't. 'You can do more for them than I can, Sirius. If I could, I would adopt them myself. You can, I'm sure they will be happy. They love you already. You can see it in their eyes.'

'They love you too, you know?' Remus nodded and smiled slightly. 'I'm going to bed now. Night Moony.'

'Night Padfoot.' Remus knew that Sirius wasn't going to bed straight away.

Sirius went upstairs but he didn't go straight to his bedroom. He opened the door to Phoenix's bedroom and saw her sleeping in the corner of the bed, almost falling down. He smiled and went towards her. He carefully moved her to the middle of the bed and knelt down beside her, brushing her red locks out of her face. She opened her eyelids and looked straight to his face.

'It's just Sirius, Phoenie. Go back to sleep, you're safe here.' She nodded and closed her eyes again. He stroked her hair until she fell asleep again.

He checked on Harry and noticed that he was sleeping in the other corner of the bed, and smiled sadly. He moved his godson to the middle of the bed, like he did to his sister, though Harry didn't wake up.

Sirius went to his bedroom and changed to his pyjamas. He fell asleep thinking of his godchildren and how much he loved them.

'_Hey Padfoot.' James said quietly from the sofa, where he was sitting with the sleepy twins in his arms. However, when the name of their beloved 'Uncle' left their father's mouth both of them perked up and struggled to be put down._

'_Hello Prongs.' Sirius said and knelt down in front of Harry and Phoenix._

'_Uncwe Pa'foo!' They said at the same time, their bright green eyes sparkling and Sirius heart melted._

'_Hello pups. Did you miss your Uncle Padfoot?' Sirius said as he sat down next to James in the sofa. The twins crawled into his lap and he bounced them on his knee, making them giggle._

'_Are you sure you can babysit them, Sirius?' James smiled at his babies._

'_Of course I can. Uncwe Pa'foo is never busy enough for his pups is he?' Sirius said in baby talk blowing a raspberry in their bellies._

_James chuckled at his friend's actions. Who would say that Sirius Black, the heartbreaker of Hogwarts would be so good with children? _

'_Alright.' James smiled as Lily entered the room, dressed in green robes. 'You look beautiful, Lily.' He got up and kissed her._

'_You don't look so bad.' She teased and kissed him again._

'_Oi! Get a room! There are innocent eyes in this room.' Sirius said teasing._

'_Are you sure that's safe, James?' Lily looked at Sirius and their children. _

'_He is great with them Lily, you know that. Now let's have dinner, shall we?' She nodded and they thanked Sirius who just waved it away._

'_Now what do you want to do huh?'_

'_Pop!' Harry exclaimed and Sirius set them down._

'_Alright Emerald.' Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and suddenly there was a pop and a big black dog was in the man's place. Phoenix reached out to pat the dog and did it a bit harder than she should as Harry tried to climb the huge dog. After both the twins tired down, Sirius sat with the pyjama clad babies in the couch, where the three of them fell asleep._

Sirius woke up the next day with a smile on his face, he missed the time when Lily and James were alive, he didn't go to Azkaban and Harry and Phoenix were just innocent babies. When their world was still whole but after that Halloween night it all fell apart. Sirius shook his head; he wouldn't spoil the day thinking about that night.

He got up and left the room, heading to the kitchen when he heard voices downstairs.

Remus woke up rather early, taking the time he went to sleep. Before he went to bed last night he checked on the twins and saw them both tucked in rather tightly and knew that Sirius was the responsible for it.

When he woke up of disturbed night of sleep and went to the kitchen, to make coffee only to find Harry and Phoenix there, setting the table and preparing breakfast.

'What are you doing?' He went towards Phoenix that was in front of the stove. The twins jumped at the sound of his voice. 'Here, let me do this.' Phoenix was looking at him frightened and Harry almost dropped the plate he was holding. 'I'm not mad at you Phoenie. I just don't want you to burn yourself okay? I told you this yesterday, you don't need to cook here. Let Sirius and I take care of you okay?' He reached out to kiss the top of her slightly messy red hair and she stiffened. He sighed and smiled at her when she opened her green eyes. 'Why don't you both sit down, you need to rest. Your leg must be hurting.' They sat down reluctantly as Sirius entered the kitchen.

'Good morning.' Sirius said excited. 'How did you both sleep?' He walked towards the twins, who sat still, and ruffled their heads, tactfully ignoring their flinches.

'Well.' Harry said quietly and smiled a little.

'Phoenie?' Sirius looked at her smiling encouragingly.

'G-Good.' She said even quieter than Harry and Sirius beamed at her.

'It's good to know. What do we have for breakfast Moony?'

Remus waved his wand and a full English breakfast appeared at the table. They started to eat, the twins after drinking their Potions. They tried to start a conversation but Harry and Phoenix were as quiet as they were yesterday.

'Regulus is coming today... Are you sure you don't mind?' Sirius asked looking at the twins who were pushing their food around.

They both nodded. Sirius was about to press them when Remus sent him a look. They couldn't force them to talk.

'What about we go shopping in Muggle London tomorrow?' Sirius suggested.

'That's a good idea, Padfoot. Did you hit your head or some miracle happened?' Remus teased and Sirius pouted, watching from the corner of his eye the twins trying hard not to laugh.

'Not fun Remy. You know I always have good ideas.'

'Sure, like that time when you tried to stand on your broom to impress a girl and fell down.' Remus raised his eyebrow. They smiled when the twins laughed; they couldn't help but laugh with them.

'So, what do you think?' Sirius asked after they stopped laughing. They shrugged. 'Come on, you can do better than that.'

'O-Okay.' They both said. And Remus and Sirius smiled.

After breakfast Remus waved his wand and the dishes cleaned up themselves. They went to the drawing room and coached the twins into a game of Exploding Snap which they played in pairs (Remus and Phoenix, Remus and Harry, Sirius and Harry, Sirius and Phoenix). After a while, Sirius went change and Remus went to the kitchen to start lunch. The twins went upstairs.

Before heading to the Malfoy Manor, Sirius decided to check on the twins. He went to Harry's bedroom and found the door almost closed, he peeked through it and saw the twins there. Phoenix reading Magical Drafts and Potions on Harry's bed and Harry polishing his Firebolt on the floor.

'Hey' He entered the room and the twins looked at him. 'I'm going now. Are you sure you don't mind? I don't want you to feel like I'm imposing something.'

'Yeah.' They smiled.

Sirius smiled at them and walked further into the room ruffling Harry's hair and kissing Phoenix's forehead, ignoring their tense frame.

'Bye, love you.'

Sirius closed the door and went downstairs.

'Remus, they're upstairs on Harry's bedroom. I'm going now.'

'Do you have everything? All the documents?' Remus looked away from the stove.

'Yeah, the Ministry sent it yesterday, being a Black has its privileges.' Sirius smirked. 'If anything happens, send me a Patronus okay?'

'Padfoot, they will be fine, relax. You're starting to sound like a mother hen.' Remus laughed as Sirius stuck his tongue.

'Bye.' Sirius waved and headed towards the door, where he apparated. He appeared miles away in front of the white manor, the gates opened and he walked towards the front door. Where the house-elf was waiting for him.

'Master Lucius, Mistress Narcissa and Master Regulus is waiting for you in the study, sir. Mikka will take you there, sir.'

Sirius nodded and followed the elf through the many corridors. Arriving there the door opened and Sirius entered.

'Hello Sirius.' Narcissa said curtly and Lucius nodded. But Sirius was looking at his nephew who smiled slightly at him, Sirius smiled back.

'Hello 'Cissy, Lucius. Hey Reggie.' Sirius reached out to ruffle the boy's head.

'Hello Uncle Sirius.' Regulus smiled again and Lucius glared disapprovingly at their interaction.

'Let's get through this already. I don't have the whole day.' Lucius sneered.

'Of course, Lucius.' Sirius said in his _Black voice_. 'Here is everything you need to sign to grant me custody of Regulus.'

Lucius nodded and proceeded to read everything, as Sirius waited patiently in silence. After a while, everything seemed to pass Lucius test.

'Everything seems to be in order. Taking that it was such a short notice.'

'You know as well as I do that being from an old family has its privileges in the Ministry. And I'm willing to use my place as Lord of The Noble and Ancient House of Black when it fits.' Sirius couldn't help but tell Lucius that he was now the Lord of the Black Family and Lucius lost his place. Lucius looked at him in disgust and nodded. He signed and Narcissa copied his actions, and after they did it the document vanished in thin air and appeared in the Ministry.

'Mikka.' Narcissa called and the elf appeared. 'Bring Regulus belongings.' The elf disappeared in thin air.

Regulus got up from his place in the armchair and stood besides his Uncle, who smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

'I'm glad you're coming, Reggie.'

'I'm glad too.' Regulus said quietly. The elf appeared with Regulus trunk which has been charmed to fit everything. 'Thank you Mikka.' The elf bowed. Sirius shrunk his nephew's trunk and put it in his pocket.

'Ready Reggie?' Sirius asked smiling. He couldn't believe his nephew would be coming home with him.

'Yeah.' Regulus walked towards his Lucius and shook his hand. 'Bye Uncle and thank you. I appreciate everything you did for me.' Lucius nodded. Regulus then, stood in front of his Aunt who – surprising everyone – hugged him. He couldn't remember the last time his Aunt Narcissa hugged him.

'Bye, Regulus. Behave.' She pulled away from the hug and gave him a small smile.

'I will. Thank you Aunt Narcissa.' He smiled slightly at her.

'You take care of him Sirius.'

'Don't worry, I will.'

Sirius and Regulus left the room, Regulus leading the way to the front door.

When they were at the door a boy entered the room. He had blond hair and slim face, and cold grey eyes.

'So you're going then?' He asked Regulus.

'Yeah. Bye Draco, see you at school.' Regulus extended his hand and Draco shook it.

'Bye.'

He left the room, ignoring Sirius altogether.

'Lucy and Cissy's boy?' Sirius asked knowingly.

'Yeah.'

'They have the same facial expression.' Regulus snorted and Sirius smiled. 'Ready?' Sirius asked when they were out of the wards.

'Ready.' Sirius gathered Regulus into a hug and apparated to his new home.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of a block on this chapter :( Did you like that Sirius will adopt the twins? Do you have any suggestion or idea? Please review!**


	7. The Love of a Father

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. I don't own anything you'd recognize. **

**PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE IN THE END OF THE CHAPTER!**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 6: The Love of a Father**

'Welcome home, Reggie.' Sirius said pulling away from the hug and gesturing for the house.

Regulus found himself in front of a white manor, but unlike the one he used to live in, this one make him feel warm, it looked like a family lived there – _his _family. The garden slightly unweeded, the woods around the house, the lake... he smiled despite his nervousness. It already felt like home. He snapped out of his thoughts when his Uncle Sirius put an arm around his shoulders.

'So... do you like it?' Sirius smiled, he already knew the answer, it was written all over Regulus' face.

'Yeah!' Regulus smiled at his Uncle, who led him inside the house.

They crossed the wards; Sirius opened the door and led his nephew towards the mahogany furnished drawing room and from there to other parts of the house. They found Remus in the library and he immediately stood up and smiled at them.

'Hello Professor.' Regulus said quite shyly.

'Hello, Regulus. Please call me Remus; you're not my student anymore.' Remus said with a sad smile.

Regulus nodded. 'It's really bad you had to resign, your class was one of my favourites.'

'I'm happy you liked it. It really is. I really like to teach.' With that Sirius snorted.

'Like? You wouldn't let pass a chance to correct us at school.' Remus in a childish behaviour stuck his tongue out for Sirius who did the same in return. Regulus laughed quietly at their antics.

'Your Uncle couldn't stop talking about you, Regulus. We are all happy you're here.'

Regulus nodded and smiled. 'I am too.' He said quietly but both the men heard. It would take Regulus some time to get used to this 'say-what-you're-feeling' thing.

'So... let's continue our tour shall we?' Sirius said with a smile. 'Where are the twins, Remus?'

'When I checked on them a few minutes ago, they were going to change. They must be ready by now.' Sirius nodded and gave Remus a look that clearly said: _'Everything's fine?' _Remus nodded slightly and Sirius gave a sigh of relief. 'Why don't you show Regulus his bedroom while I get the twins?'

'Okay. Come on Reggie.' Sirius showed his nephew the rest of the house and let Regulus' bedroom for the end.

'Here is my bedroom, Remus', Phoenix's and Harry's.' He pointed each of the rooms and finally stopped in front of a bedroom that had _'Regulus'_ carved on the door. 'Go ahead.' Sirius ruffled his nephew's hair and stepped back as Regulus reached for the doorknob.

Regulus stood flabbergasted looking around. Everything was just as he always wanted, in his favourite colours and the ceiling showing the stars. The bed in the corner, the shelf next to the desk, the wardrobe next to the door, the armchair and the navy blue painting. He looked at his Uncle speechless.

'Did you like it? I-I only knew the basics about you so I didn't know what you wanted exactly. But we can change if you want to. I-' Sirius was interrupted when a mop of black wavy hair crashed into his chest and wrapped his arms around him. Sirius was a bit startled but hugged back and kissed the top of his nephew's head. Since Azkaban, Sirius needed a lot more affection than he would care to admit, he needed to feel this was all real. 'I take you liked it then?'

'I love it Uncle Sirius! Thank you.' Regulus pulled away, blushing furiously.

'I'm glad you liked it, pup. But I didn't do it all by myself, Remus helped.' Regulus smiled and reminded himself to thank his former professor later.

Sirius pulled Regulus' trunk out of his pocket, enlarged it with a simple _engorgio _and put it on the end of his nephew's bed. 'Let's have lunch then you can unpack okay?'

Regulus nodded, took one last look around the room and left with his Uncle following behind him.

They headed towards the kitchen, where Remus was setting the table and the twins were standing still in the corner, looking troubled.

'Hey pups.' Sirius walked towards them and knelt down. 'Are you okay?' The twins nodded. Sirius looked one more time at them, than seemed satisfied and motioned Regulus to come. 'I want to introduce you to someone, well properly introduce. Regulus, these are Harry and Phoenix Potter my godchildren. Harry, Phoenix, this is Regulus Black, my nephew.'

'Hello, I'm Regulus', Regulus extended his hand with a smile. It was the first time he was close enough to look at the twins together to notice the similarities. They both had the same nose, mouth and the same haunted and dull green eyes. Their faces had healing scars and they both looked tense.

'Hi, I'm Harry and this is my sister Phoenix.' Harry shook his hand weakly and Regulus noticed that there were scars too in his hand. He extended his hand to Phoenix and backed away slightly before shaking his hand hesitantly.

Phoenix took a better look at Regulus, she knew him from her Runes and Arithmancy classes but never talked to him, actually she never really talked to anyone but her brother at Hogwarts. He had a husky voice that you didn't hear in class and a hesitant smile, his grey eyes shined with hope and he looked so much like Sirius that it could be his son. She realized with a pang on her heart that Sirius didn't need her; he had a nephew to take care of. And Remus had enough things to worry about without her or her brother to add to it.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Sirius and Remus staring at her with some foreign feeling, was it concern? She backed away, closer to her brother and they walked towards the table, doing everything she could to ignore the pain on her leg.

They started to eat as they had a light conversation. The twins weren't hungry, days without food or drink did this to your stomach. Remus and Sirius kept sharing looks of concern over the clanking cutlery, not knowing what else to do.

'Try to eat at least a little bit, mm?' Remus said in a soft voice. 

They nodded looking hesitant and took a few bites, their hands trembling slightly. _'It must take a great effort to be here at all'_ Sirius thought_. 'I shouldn't have believed it that easily. They aren't fine.'_ He felt really tempted to get that fork and feed them himself but he knew he couldn't do that, even if he wanted to, they weren't the babies he used to know anymore, his babies.

He noticed that everyone had finished eating and saw Phoenix and Harry stood up holding their plates both shaking slightly.

Phoenix shaky legs couldn't hold her light weight and she fell down, the plate she was holding smashing under her scarred hands. She felt the porcelain puncturing her hands but it didn't matter, not now that the kitchen was silent and everyone was looking at her. She tried to stop the tears that would surely come after the shock and gather the strength to face the punishment like a Gryffindor would but everything was forgotten the moment she felt someone grab her from behind. She would've noticed the caring touch if she wasn't snapped into flashbacks of her 'Uncle' grabbing her and throwing her on the wall or the cupboard. She didn't notice when the tears started to fall or the soothing voice of her godfathers as they tried to sooth her, she didn't notice Harry frozen on the spot, having troubled thoughts or Regulus staring at them in suspicion then realization.

She closed her hands into fists to try to stop the sobs that were racking her body; Phoenix had to bit her lip to stop the cry of the porcelain entering her hand even more. That made her aware of what's going on.

'I won't hurt you pup, shh. It doesn't matter, you're okay now.' Phoenix unconsciously buried her head on Sirius neck, maybe it was her heart that knew that he wouldn't hurt her but her mind was telling otherwise, this reassurance was nothing on her mind comparing the years of abuse.

Sirius sat on the kitchen chair, his goddaughter in his arms, sobbing like there's no tomorrow. He felt helpless, he could only tell her reassurances and comfort her but it wasn't enough.

Remus knelt down in front of him and Phoenix and carefully grabbed her small hand in his; only then Sirius noticed that she was bleeding heavily. Harry was by his side, looking worried at his sister, almost as if he wanted to gather her in his small arms, like he used to when they were alone. Sirius continued whispering soothing words, to reassure both the twins and himself.

Harry knew that Sirius wouldn't hurt his sister, not now anyway. He stepped back and let Remus heal her. Remus summoned the pieces of porcelain that entered her hands, she tried to snatch it way but he held it as firmly as he could without hurting her. She turned her bloodshot eyes at him pleading.

'I will make it better. Just hold on, cub.' But she wasn't pleading because it hurt, not the pieces of porcelain anyway. She didn't want Remus to hurt her. She couldn't bear it anymore.  
>Remus cast the healing charms he knew and was satisfied when the wounds disappeared. He kissed the palm of her hands. 'There, it's over.'<p>

She gave him a small tearful smile and thanked him quietly. She then proceeded to apologise for breaking the plate, unaware that while she was having a flashback she couldn't stop saying it.

'You don't have to apologise, pup. It was nothing a simple _reparo_ couldn't fix; it was you we were worried about.' She looked down ashamed and overwhelmed because of the foreign feeling. She knew she looked like a little child sitting on her godfather's lap and burying her face on his neck as he rocked her but she felt safe, the safest she ever felt in her entire life and she didn't want it to go away but she couldn't help feeling it was too good to last, that suddenly it'd all be over and she would be back on the cupboard under the stairs. She didn't want to bother Sirius or Remus; she didn't want them to regret their decision of taking her and her twin in because they were acting like clingy needy toddlers. She saw Harry from the corner of her eye, he was smiling slightly at her, reassuring her that he was her 'big brother' - as she always referred him when she was little, even though they were twins and she didn't know who was older - and would protect her, like he always _tried_ to. She then saw Regulus leaning against the counter looking at her not with pity, but sympathy. He gave her a hesitant smile when he saw her looking, letting her know that he already knew what's going on but wouldn't judge her.

She made a move to get out of Sirius arms, and he looked at her, slightly hurt. 'I won't hurt you, Phoenie. Remus and I just want to help you, okay?' she nodded and he pulled her onto his chest gain and kissed the top of her head.

'Why don't we watch a muggle film? I'm sure none of you are familiar with it.' Remus said the last part sadly. 'I will make hot chocolate, why don't you go to the drawing room? I'm sure one of you knows how to turn on a television. Except for Sirius that is.' he smiled when he saw the teens laugh (or repress a laugh in the twin's case) of Sirius indignant expression, he smiled at the sound.

'I do know how to turn on a telly-vision!' he said pouting. 

'Sure thing, Padfoot.' Remus smiled not bothering to correct his 'brother'. 'I remember that time when we were babysitting the twins and you blew up Lily's television.'

The twins were looking longingly at them. Sirius stood up with Phoenix in his arms - Remus knew he wouldn't let her down soon - and stuck his tongue out at Remus.  
>'Let's go, pups.' He walked out of the room, Regulus followed immediately behind but Harry hesitated.<p>

'What's the problem, cub?' Remus knelt down in front of him. 

'T-Thank you. For helping my sister, I mean. And for e-everything you've done.' Harry stuttered quietly. Remus pulled the small boy in a hug ignoring his stiff frame. 

'We love you, Harry. You and your sister mean the world to me and Sirius. We would give our lives for you willingly. We would never hurt you; I need you to understand that okay? I know it's not easy but with time you will believe when we say it.' Remus kissed the mop of jet-black hair and pulled away, Harry was blinking back the tears. He wanted to believe it, he really did but his memories wouldn't let him, he was unworthy of love, he could believe _that_. 

'Go ahead.' Remus said and Harry disappeared to the drawing room where Regulus was teaching Sirius how to use the remote control. 

Regulus was sitting on Sirius left side, Phoenix was still on his lap and he had a protective arm around her. Sirius when he saw Harry patted the spot on his right side in the suspiciously enlarged sofa. Harry sat on the other side, wanting to stay not too close to Sirius but as close he could to his sister at the same time.

Soon Remus came levitating a tray with five mugs of hot chocolate and two Potions, which the twins gulped down trying not to make a face. He looked alarmed when he saw the control in Sirius' hand.

'Sirius. Put that down.' Remus said warily.

'Don't worry, Prof-Remus. I taught him how to use it.' seeing their looks he shrugged. 'Muggle Studies.'

'Sirius took Muggle Studies as well, only to annoy his family but he didn't learn anything.' Remus shook his head mock disappointment. Sirius for the second time stuck his tongue out for his friend. Remus put on the film, Peter Pan it was called. In the end, the twins went upstairs with Sirius and Regulus. They rested a bit as Sirius helped Regulus to unpack.

'Uncle Sirius...' He seemed to hesitate. 'They were abused, weren't they? The twins?'

Sirius looked at him alarmed and nodded paying attention to his nephew's facial expressions. 'How-?'

'My Slytherin and Ravenclaw's side together.' Regulus shrugged elegantly. 'It was also pretty obvious. That's why you asked if the Malfoys had hurt me, you said they had been through a lot. Well, they flinch when you come near them and have scars all over their bodies. If you put it together...' he let it trail off.

Sirius nodded. 'I can't tell you about it Reggie, I promised I wouldn't. I'm sorry things got out of hand today, you shouldn't have to see that.'

'That's no problem. We are- I mean, I'm here now. It would've happened sooner or later.' He blushed at his slip.

Sirius knew what his nephew would say and smiled, before pulling another book out of Regulus' enlarged trunk and walking towards him. 

'Yes, we are family now.' Sirius ruffled his nephew's hair.

A while after dinner-which went by without any incident-they all went to bed, the adults passed in the children's bedrooms to say goodnight, they tucked the twins in and made sure they knew that if anything happened they should wake them up. Sirius was a bit unsure about Regulus, though; he knew about the twins past but knew nothing about his own nephew. He said a quiet goodnight and went to his bedroom to write a letter to his niece Tonks. Well, second cousin actually. The last time he'd seen her she was 8 and he always had a soft spot for the Metamorphmagus girl, who now was a woman. He wanted to see her and also, he wanted her help tomorrow. He didn't know how he was supposed to buy things for a teenage girl.

_'Dear Nymphie,_

_How are you doing? It's been quite a while huh? When I left you were eight, you should be 21 now. Wow__  
>I wanted to know if you wanted to come tomorrow. Remus and I got custody of Harry and Phoenix Potter and Regulus (my nephew) is here too. We need to go for a shopping trip in Muggle London and I'm clueless about girl things and also you loved shopping didn't you? Even when you were a kid.<br>If you want to come, just floo _Marauder's Place_.___

_I miss you,  
>Uncle Siri'<em>

He hesitated while signing; it was how she used to call him. Now he would be a stranger, he didn't saw the clumsy little girl grow up, now she was a woman. He was away almost her entire life. He felt a pang in his heart not for the first time. He lost everything because of his decision, how he wished he could go back in time and make it all different, make it all right.

He looked at the starry sky. _'How I wish you were here, James and Lily. You would know what to do, how to help your own son and daughter. I'm sorry you aren't here, it's my fault all of it. I was selfish when I went after Peter. I left your babies, who needed me more than ever. They are broken, so broken. They need you here, not me. I don't know what I am doing. Please, send me a sign. Anything, help me Prongs.' _He didn't know how long he stood there kneeling by the window. Something happened and he just knew that he and Remus would manage it.

He got up and sent the letter, and then he changed and lay on his bed. But he couldn't sleep, he kept rolling over. Something was wrong; he got up and put a robe over his pyjamas.

He walked to Regulus bedroom and saw his nephew sleeping peacefully; he crossed the room and tucked the covers around him after placing a kiss on his nephew's hair.

A part of Sirius kept saying that he looked like an idiot; the other part of him knew that he would do what was possible to turn them all into a family.

He after went to Phoenix's bedroom that was in the middle of the three. He opened the door quietly only to find the bed empty, he started to panic when he thought it would be better if he checked on Harry's bedroom before waking Remus up.

He walked quickly to the bedroom beside and saw both the twins on the bed, looking sleepy but reluctant to sleep. Their eyes were red and they looked disturbed.

'Nightmare?' Sirius asked quietly when they saw him at the door. They nodded quietly. 'Why didn't you come to me? I don't mind.' He said trying to hide the sadness in his eyes. 'Come here.' He hugged the twins, pretending he didn't notice their flinch. They started to cry slightly and soon Sirius' robes were soaked. 'There, there. Shh, it's over now. Just a nightmare. I'm here, I'll protect you, and I'll keep you safe.'

They stopped crying, just sniffling occasionally, and pulled away, looking down.

'S-Sorry.' Harry said, rubbing his eyes and looking younger than ever.

'There's no need to be sorry. Do you want to talk about it? It helps.' They shook their heads and backed away. Sirius sighed. 'I'm here for you okay? Whenever you need to talk or a hug or anything. I'm here. You're never a burden, never a bother. I love you both more than life itself.' Sirius looked in their eyes, begging for them to understand, he knew that they wanted to, but there was a battle inside them, and Sirius knew a lot about it. They wanted to believe it, but it goes against everything they'd been told. They were afraid it would be taken away from them just as suddenly as they got it.

They nodded hesitantly. Sirius got up and Phoenix did something she never thought she would, she grabbed his hand. Sirius looked down surprised as he saw his goddaughter looking at him, holding his hand.

'I'm not leaving, Flamie.' He smiled sadly at his nickname for her. 'I'm not leaving you ever if I can help it.'

She smiled and let go of his hand, feeling ashamed all of sudden.

'Hey, come with me downstairs then.' The twins held his hand and he lead them to the kitchen where he warmed two cups of milk and gave it to them.

They looked at him quizzically but drank it up anyway.

'Better?' He asked with a smile. They nodded shyly and Sirius grabbed their hands leading them upstairs passing their bedrooms.

'Where-?' Harry stopped himself from asking questions.

'To my bedroom, you will sleep there tonight okay?' Seeing their look he added. 'I don't mind. I wouldn't leave you two alone tonight if you asked. We better stay comfortable.' He smiled softly at their smile. 'Crawl up.' He took off the robe he put over his pyjama and got on the bed. 'Come here.' They hesitated but seeking comfort snuggled against Sirius chest. They forgot that _fourteen_ year-olds didn't sleep in their parents' bed, they forgot about the abuse and everything they went through. They just listened to Sirius voice as he sang a song quietly and slowly drifted to sleep, for the first time feeling safe and loved.

They wondered if it was like having a father.

**A/N: Hey! I really like this chapter, I know Harry, Sirius and Remus are out of cannon but well... they are supposed to be like that. Harry will sometimes act younger than his age (just like Phoenix) and sometimes older; he had no chance to have a proper childhood remember? So I hope you don't mind. Also Tonks is coming next chapter! I love her; she is one of my favourite characters. I wonder why all of my favourite characters are dead :( **

**I accept suggestions for next chapter. ****What do you think they should do in Muggle London?**** Besides shopping I mean. **

**I would love it if I received more reviews. I mean, I have more than 3,000 hits and not even 30 reviews :( **

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! And I look forward reading your suggestions but please there's no need to be mean.**


	8. Muggle London and Deep Conversations

**PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR VOTE ON THE POOL THAT'S IN MY PROFILE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THIS STORY :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 7: Muggle London and Deep Conversations**

Sirius opened his eyes and tried to move when he remembered what happened last night. Harry and Phoenix were still fast asleep, looking more peaceful and younger than Sirius has ever seen since he got them back. Seeing them like that was easy to forget everything they went through, they looked like eight or nine years old, sleeping peacefully and seeking comfort in their father's bed.

Sirius thought about trying to catch his wand to perform simple charm to see the time but didn't want to take a chance to wake the twins up, they needed their sleep. He lay on his bed and let his mind drift in thoughts as he stroked their hair.

After a while, he felt Phoenix tense under his touch, he looked down and saw she was opening her eyes, squinting because of the morning sunlight. She looked up at him and their eyes met, he gave her a smile and she returned shyly, before ducking her head down her face as red as her hair. Sirius smiled inwardly, despite her tense body she didn't make any effort to get away from him, it felt right somehow. He knew that while he held her close he would be able to protect the little girl that was a daughter to him. He was scared about letting them go, afraid they would disappear and he would be back in Azkaban and he was unaware that they felt the same only changing the place where their private hell was located. He rubbed her back and she relaxed, unconsciously snuggling closer to him.

'Did you sleep well, pup?' Sirius asked his voice hoarse from sleep.

'Y-Yes.' She said and Sirius smile widened when he heard her melodic voice. He could get used to all of it.

'Good to know.' He kept rubbing her back and she closed her eyes enjoying the comfort it gave her but didn't drift back to sleep. Phoenix hadn't slept so well in a long time without a potion, she felt safer then she'd ever felt and wanted for the first time she could remember. Phoenix didn't want it to stop; she didn't want to ruin it like she always did or burden Sirius with her company.

'Good morning, Harry' Sirius said and Harry looked at him, embarrassed. Phoenix opened her eyes at the sound of her brother's name. 'Sleep well?' Harry nodded blushing harder by the minute. Thirteen year olds soon-to-be fourteen year olds did not behave that way, so clingy. 'Why don't we go have breakfast?' Sirius pretended not to notice the way Harry was reddening. 'Then you can have your potions. It's time for them. And we are going to Muggle London today, how does that sound?'

The twins sat up and gave Sirius a hesitant smile, nodding to show him they were okay with it before looking at each other with and crawling out of bed. Harry reached out for his sister and kissed her forehead, she beamed at him.

'Are you okay?' He asked concerned. Even if he knew how she was feeling, only in a weakened version of the pain and it was part of the twin-thing.

Sirius waved his wand and the time appeared in blue bold letters, 9:23 am.

They got out of the bed and room, still in their pyjamas and walked down the stairs - Sirius helping Phoenix with her leg. At the kitchen, Remus and Regulus were talking cheerfully.  
>'Good morning!' Sirius said as he put his goddaughter down on a chair.<p>

'Morning, Padfoot, Harry, Phoenie.' Remus smiled, he almost had a heart attack when he checked on the twins in the middle of the night and found them gone, only to find them with sleeping soundly in Sirius' room, the latter with a protective arm around each of them. 'Did you sleep well?' The twins nodded shyly.

'Hey, Reggie.' Sirius said kissing the top of his nephew head after ruffling his hair. 'How was your first night at the Marauder's Place?'

'Great.' Regulus smiled. He decided not to tell his Uncle that he was awake when Sirius visited him late at night. It felt good to know that he cared enough to check on him and tuck him in and he didn't want it to end, even if he was too old for it. He was never exactly deprived of affection but the Malfoys - like any other pureblood family - had a very cool behaviour.

'Good to know.' Sirius smiled. 'Did you eat already?'

'Yeah but there's still food for you in the oven. There's a letter for you in the counter by the way.' Remus added as an afterthought.

Sirius thanked him and warmed the breakfast. They proceeded to eat. The twins eating just a quarter of the food in their plate and after it drank their potions (Remus gave them the potions later in hope they'd eat more.) after drinking them, their pain lessened and Harry was able to breathe with ease again (his lung was aching every time he took a breath but he wouldn't bother them with it).

Meanwhile, Sirius opened the letter.

_'Dear Uncle Siri,_

_I miss you so much! Yeah, I'm 21 now and I just finished my Auror Training, isn't it great? It's been so long, I can't wait to see you and meet everybody. I'll be in your home by 10:30 a.m.  
>Love,<em>_  
>Tonks<em>

_Ps: Mum said you should send her a letter soon or you'll be sorry. Oh! And she misses you.'_

He chuckled, how he missed Andromeda's threats and Nymphadora hadn't changed a bit. It made him feel better.

'Nymphadora, my 'niece'-' He put quotes around the word. '-will come with us to Muggle London today. She said she can't wait to meet you.' He said cheerfully, earning a smile from everyone.

Remus knew how family was important to Sirius, even if he ran away from home. His parents weren't his family, the Marauders and Andromeda were. She was like a sister to him, since way before Hogwarts and she was the only Black he kept contact with; his brother, after he ran away, joined the Death Eaters. Remus knew Sirius blamed himself for that, for leaving his little brother in the hands of those maniacs. That was part of the reason he wanted to make sure his nephew was happy and to be present in his life, he wanted to correct his mistakes from the past. This time it wasn't too late.

'Nymphadora? Andromeda and Ted Tonks' daughter?' Remus asked. He remembered the Metamorphmagus girl from when Sirius babysat her; sometimes he helped his friend with the hyperactive girl.

'How many Nymphadoras you think are there, Remus?' Sirius asked bewildered and Remus snorted.

'Why don't you go change? We have a long day ahead of us.' Remus said changing the subject. It was already ten o'clock. The twins and Sirius went upstairs (Remus and Regulus had already changed).

Phoenix took a shower and changed into one of her Aunt's hand-me-downs. It was still too big for her in every way but at least it was a woman's dress and not one of her hand-me-downs from Dudley. The problem was that it was short sleeved, so it showed all bruises and scars on her arms. 'If only I could use magic, I'd be able to use a concealment charm.' She shook her head sadly. She was never vain; she didn't even have a chance to be (and never wished she was) but she looked particularly horrible. She was sickly thin; her face was abnormally bony and scarred. She was about to get one of Dudley's long sleeved shirts despite the warm weather when there was a knock on her door. Sirius was dressed in Muggle Jeans and a T-Shirt like Remus and Regulus, though the latter's looked a bit more pompous and old-fashioned. Harry was behind him, dressed in clothes she didn't recognize.

Sirius looked at her sadly. 'Come here, Flamie.' She inwardly smiled at the nickname; she could feel the warmth spreading through her body. Phoenix walked hesitantly closer to him and he knelt down to take a better look at the horrendous yellow dress. He had a look of concentration on his face and waved his wand transfiguring the upper part of the dress into an olive green T-Shirt and the lower part into dark jeans. He waved his wand over her arms and face concentration harder and all the bruises and scars were gone, she recognized the wand movement at once, it was the concealment charm. She and Harry used it a lot to hide what's happened at the Dursley's household. Phoenix than noticed that her brother was, like her, scar less. – Except for his lightning bolt one, it proved impossible to conceal.

'T-Thank you.' She said quietly to Sirius and he smiled, reaching out to kiss her forehead and ruffle her hair. She backed away a little bit as she saw him raising his arm, it brought back bad memories. She saw the hurt expression on Sirius' face and immediately felt bad. 'S-S-Sorry.' she said looking down. She was already ruining everything.

'It's not your fault, pup. It's that monsters' fault. You'll never go back there, I won't hurt you. Any of you.' he took his goddaughter in his arms and motioned Harry to come closer then he hugged him as well. 'I love you, don't forget that.' He said his face buried in Harry's messy hair. The twins nodded, relaxing in his arms.

Harry tried hard not to break down in Sirius arms; he was trying so hard to look strong, like everything was okay so they could help his sister. _'She needs it more than me.'_ He repeated in his head, but it wasn't the true. He felt completely broken inside, like if he was constantly surrounded by a Dementor. Every shadow was his Uncle, every loud noise was the sound of the whip on his body, and every scream was his Uncle throwing insults at them. He tried not to flinch so much when touched, tried to tell himself that he didn't deserve the comfort he got yesterday, or the love. It was the only thing he did well his entire life, being a freak. He was "an abomination, ungrateful freak, useless piece of scum", he did that well, no one had to bother teaching him. He learned in an early age that he must not cry, he must be strong and protect his sister, and he was a failure at that. He just wanted to sob in Sirius' arms, tell him everything but he knew he couldn't bother Sirius with his problems, he wouldn't.

'Harry? Are you alright?' Sirius pulled away and stared at him concernedly. His sister turned her head to the side and looked at him confused. She couldn't read these thoughts, he made sure of that but she knew something was wrong. Harry nodded and stood up straight, putting his mask back in place.

Sirius took one more concerned look at Harry and led them down the stairs to the drawing room. Sirius sat next to Regulus with Phoenix on the other side. Harry sat next to Remus, who put an arm around his shoulders ignoring Harry's flinch. He pulled his godson closer and rubbed his back until Harry relaxed, kissing the black mop of hair. Harry for the most of time tried to act like everything was okay. _'Why is it so hard to fake near them? I didn't have any trouble doing it at school.'_ And deep down he knew the answer he just didn't believe it.

Sirius, Remus and Regulus avidly discussed their plans for the day, Regulus getting more comfortable and relaxed with their company by the minute. Regulus has never gone to Muggle London, not that the adults were expecting something different from the Malfoys but anyway it was still astounding to hear that.

The fire turned green and a pink haired woman stepped out of the fireplace, grabbing on one of the many shelves to keep from falling down. She was short and had a heart-shaped face. Her hair was bubble-gum pink and her eyes greyish-blue.

'Uncle Siri!' She shouted, forgetting for a moment that she was twenty-one not eight. Harry and Phoenix cringed away from the yell.

Sirius stood up and hugged Nymphadora. Unconsciously trying to make up for all the lost years. 'I missed you, Nymphie.' He whispered.

'Me too, Uncle Siri. And don't call me Nymphie, it's Tonks.' She stuck her tongue out at him as they pulled away. He chuckled and turned around to introduce her to the others.

'You remember Remus? He used to babysit you with me sometimes.' He then mumbled something that sounded a lot like "demon child".

'Yeah. Wotcher Remus.' She smiled at him.

'Hello Nymphadora. You haven't changed, I see.' He smiled and shook her hand. Tonks' hair turned bright red as her face, if it was because of the name she didn't mention it.

'Aw, little Nymphie did not get over her crush on Remy.' Sirius said in a sweet baby voice and Tonks turned around, murdering him with the eyes.

'Shut up, Sirius Black.' Sirius was about to open his mouth and comment on Remus' red face when she turned to the kids.

'Hey, I'm Tonks.' She shook Regulus hand enthusiastically.

'I'm Regulus.' He smiled and she changed her hair to wavy black and her heart-shaped face, tuning it more angular and leaving her bluish-grey eyes.

'Hello cousin.' She grinned at them, everyone but Sirius who chuckled was looking at her flabbergasted.

She then turned to Harry and Phoenix, changing her appearance to look like them. 'Now we are triplets.' She winked at them and they smiled shyly. Sirius gave her a grateful look.

'Let's get going, shall we? We have a full day.' Sirius said.

'What about we floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then we go to the Muggle World?' Remus suggested thoughtfully. 

Sirius nodded. 'Who's going first?'

'I will.' Remus grabbed floo powder and tossed it on the fireplace shouting 'The Leaky Cauldron'.

He stepped in the fireplace and disappeared with a whoosh, soon followed by Regulus and Tonks.

'Do you think you can go alone?' Sirius asked and Harry nodded gulping and taking off his glasses. His experiences with floo powder weren't the best but he wouldn't bother Sirius with that, his godfather would have to take his sister with him already because of her leg and he wasn't a baby, he didn't need someone to go with him. He threw floo powder on the fire and stepped into the green flames. He shouted his destination accidentally inhaling the ashes. His head began spinning as well as his body but when he was about to vomit it was all over someone caught him before he fell on his face. Harry immediately tensed while trying to stop his coughing fit but it was too strong. He closed his eyes tightly and covered his mouth with his hands; he felt the hands that caught him rubbing his back as he coughed more. A cool wind swept over his face and it was over. That moment the fire turned green again and Sirius stepped through the flames with Phoenix tightly on his side.

'Are you okay, cub?' Remus asked concernedly, Harry was pale. Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak right now. There was a slight discomfort on Harry's chest, where his lung would be but he decided not to bother the adults with it. He wouldn't spoil their day. Phoenix gave him a calculating look and he looked away.

'Let's go shall we? Where should we go first by the way?' Sirius asked excited.

'Ohh What about a Theme Park?' Tonks asked looking like a three year old eating candy, her eyes shining with glee.

Sirius and Remus smiled as they saw Regulus', Phoenix's and Harry's faces lit up.

'Well, as long Harry and Phoenix take it easy. I don't see why not.' Remus said with a smile. 'We can go shopping later.'

They followed Tonks to a Theme Park close to the Leaky Cauldron she knew and Sirius paid for their tickets, ignoring Harry and Phoenix's protests.

'Look, I'm your godfather. It's my job to take care of you and look after you as well as give you everything you need. Let me be the adult here and take care of things okay?' He knelt down to look into their eyes. 'I know you are used to take care of yourself and your needs but I am here now to provide you that and you shouldn't be used to it in the first place. I have a lot of money as well so don't worry about that. Save your money for the future.' Sirius said and they nodded looking down, it still didn't feel right for them, having Sirius spending his money in two 'ungrateful freaks'. Sirius then gave everyone a look, as if he dared them to protest.

They entered the colourful park and couldn't choose where to look at. Roller coasters, water and dark rides, thrill rides all around them seemed to call their name. Sirius was jumping up and down with Tonks looking like kids; Regulus was looking around impressed and excited as well as slightly confused; Harry and Phoenix had a look in their eyes that said if they could they would run around free. Remus chuckled at their reaction; he had to admit that he also was very excited.

'Where do you want to go first?' He asked and Sirius, Tonks and Regulus pointed to the rollercoaster. Harry and Phoenix said nothing, only shuffled their feet.

'To that big curved and high thing.' Sirius said and Remus, Tonks, even Phoenix and Harry laughed at it (though they stopped as soon as they started not to make a noise) Regulus was looking at them confused.

'It's called a rollercoaster Uncle Siri.' Tonks said laughing.

'Okay, that.'

Remus stepped back when they got closer to the rollercoaster, no way he would be going there. He saw Phoenix back away looking pale as he looked up to the loop, her hands shaking slightly.

'Are you okay, pup?' He asked kneeling down in front of her. Understanding dawned on him. 'Are you scared of heights?' She looked down and nodded almost imperceptibly, if he wasn't analysing her thin frame he wouldn't have noticed that. 'Hey' he lifted her chin. 'You should have said something, cub, we wouldn't be mad. What about we go to another ride?' She looked at him nervously; Phoenix didn't want to spoil Remus' day. He held her hand in his bigger one and stood up. 'Okay, you four go. Phoenie and I will go take a look around. We meet in an hour here, okay?'

Sirius was about to protest but saw the look Remus' gave him. Sirius kissed Phoenix's forehead and led Harry, Tonks and Regulus to the rollercoaster.

Remus took Phoenix by the hand and led her to a train ride that'd go around the park. They sat on the bench and Remus put an arm around his goddaughter and rubbed her arm.

'Are you okay, Phoenie?' She nodded and relaxed a little. 'I am very happy to have you here, you know that? You and your brother mean the world to Sirius and me.' He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. 'I know we weren't there before and I'm truly sorry for not trying more. I sent letters and letters to the Ministry but they wouldn't let a monster come near their saviours.' You could hear the disgust and anger on his voice. Phoenix pulled away from him a little looking scared at the change in his behaviour. Remus blinked to control the wolf inside him; they hurt two members of his pack, his cubs. The yellow in his eyes faded slowly. _'Well, they took them away from me and tossed them in that monster's cage.'_ He thought bitterly. Remus smiled a bit at his goddaughter to reassure her it was okay. 'We are here now and we love you, we want you. You are not a burden and we won't hurt you. I know Sirius told you all that but I will repeat it until you believe it. You deserve to be loved and looked after, cub.'

'Y-You're not a monster' she said so quietly that even Remus had trouble hearing it. Remus smiled at her words, she was truly Lily's daughter. He shook his head.

'I wish they shared your point of view, cub.'

The rest of the ride was silent, each one of them lost in their own thoughts. After that, Remus played a game to win a prize. He got his goddaughter a big white Unicorn that she was clenching on her chest as if it'd disappear if she let it go. She kept thanking him, even after he said she was welcome. Remus had a feeling she didn't receive much in the way of presents before – that she could remember at least. 

Sirius, Regulus, Harry and Tonks sat together in the first cart. It began to move very fast and soon everything around them was blurry. They were spinning, turning upside down and dropping. The adrenaline was high in their blood and Harry forgot everything that was hurting him. It was just like a broomstick, only without the controlling part.

At the end, their hair was messy and their cheeks flushed.

'WOW!' Regulus exclaimed, trying to put his hair back in place. 'It was even better than Gringotts.' Harry nodded and Sirius chuckled.

They went to other roller coasters, getting more and more excited by the minute. An hour later they went back to the first roller coaster to find Remus and a flushed Phoenix sitting on a bench. The white Unicorn was on Phoenix's lap.

'Hey Moony, Phoenie. How did you get that Unicorn?'

'R-Remus got him for m-me in the game.' She said quietly and Sirius beamed at her.

'That's great.' He smiled. 'What are you going to name him?'

She looked at him warily and shrugged. He decided to let it go.

'What about we go in a few rides and then we can have lunch and ice cream before shopping?' Sirius asked.

They all nodded and went in a few more rides, including water rides – which left them soaked. Remus performed a drying charm in all of them (it would look suspicious if he did the Impervious charm) after they found an empty alley and they had lunch. Phoenix and Harry trying their best to eat everything without being sick but ended up eating only half of their burgers.

'What about some ice cream?' Sirius suggested with a smile and they all nodded. They each chose a Popsicle -Regulus picked a Vanilla Popsicle, Remus a fudge flavoured one, Tonks chose strawberry, Sirius' was Mint. Harry and Phoenix chose the cheapest one but Sirius protested and got Harry a chocolate Popsicle and Phoenix a cookies and cream one.

After that, Tonks led the way to a big store where they could find everything near Charing Cross Road, once there they reluctantly split up. Phoenix and Tonks went to the girls/women section while Remus, Sirius, Harry and Regulus went to the boys/men section.

'Do you like it? It matches your eyes.' Tonks said trying to get Phoenix's opinion. She already had a bag full of everything Phoenix needed, knickers, trousers, shirts, sweaters, scarves, dresses, several kinds of shoes as well as toiletries and girl stuff. Phoenix believed that it was more than she ever had. The Metamorphmagus was becoming frustrated with the lack of opinion, Sirius told her that the red haired girl was very shy but this was beyond than just shy, something was wrong.

'Let's go to the trying rooms so you can try these.' She said with a sigh.

Phoenix nodded and followed the Auror, trying to ignore the increasing pain on her leg.

'Are you sure you're okay, Phoen?' Another nod. Tonks sighed. 'Okay, try these. I'll be waiting here for you.'

-

Harry had never seen so many clothes. Sirius was picking more clothes than he had used in his whole life. He sometimes nodded or shrugged when asked if he liked it but his mind was not on it. He was trying his best to ignore the rising pain on his chest, and not to breathe raggedly. He was almost sure that his healing lung was damaged by the ashes of the thousands of fireplaces. But it still wasn't worth bothering Sirius or Remus with it.

'Harry?' Remus called him softly and Harry snapped out of his thoughts, they were in front of the trying rooms though he didn't remember arriving there at all. 'Try these and see if you like them.' Sirius and Regulus were already in the trying their clothes.

'Harry!' Sirius couldn't suppress a gasp when he saw his godson's previous scar less face now full of purple bruises as the boy stepped out of the trying room. The said boy cringed and looked down, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. 'Oh pup! I'm so sorry. I forgot to recast the charm again before it wore off.' Harry nodded. For the first time he too forgot about the charm. At school he never forgot about it, couldn't afford forgetting but it all felt so normal, so good, like he wasn't the-Boy-Who-Lived-to-be-abused, as if he was just Harry. Harry just had one thing on his mind: if the spell cast on him wore off, the one cast on his sister would too.

-

Phoenix stepped out of the trying room carrying just a few clothes; she didn't want Sirius to spend much on her. It didn't feel right at all. She felt strange, like something was wrong, actually, badly wrong. It was when she heard what Tonks said that he realised what it was.

'Phoenix!' Tonks said loudly, in what was supposed to be a concerned voice but to Phoenix sounded like she was going to be yelled at.

Phoenix panicked and looked into the closest mirror she could find. The charm wore off. Her face was completely bruised and scarred, dark shadows under her eyes, and you could see clearly her malnourished body. _'Tonks must have seen what a freak I am.'_ She thought half sadly, half fearful.

She did the only thing she could think of, she ran. Phoenix thanked anyone who was hearing for the store being empty. She didn't know where she was going when she bumped into something, or rather someone.

Regulus saw the red haired girl running blindly towards them, they called her but she didn't seem to hear it. He opened his arms just as she crashed into him. He circled his arms around her automatically, as she tensed and tried to get away, her body was shaking with suppressed sobs.

'Shh, it's all right.' He said quietly rubbing her back, as she buried her face on his neck though unconsciously, she was too panicked to notice that she cried into her godfather's nephew's neck who she had barely exchanged a word or two with him.

Sirius and Remus watched their interaction with a smile. Harry was divided between being happy that Regulus seemed to care about her and being jealous of his little sister. She deserved someone that truly cared about her, she deserved to be loved by more than just Harry but Harry wanted to be the one to help her, it was their promise.

_'I-I'm scawed.' A five year old Phoenix old her twin brother quietly biting her lip. She was feeling so violated, so dirty. Earlier that week, her uncle had abused sexually of her. Her speech was getting worse every day and she barely talked, that's why Harry was so surprised to hear her voice._

_'Don't be Phoenie. I'm here for you, we'll be fine together.'_

_'W-Will you pwotect me Hawwy?' She asked her twin brother as he tried to tend of one of her wounds the best he could._

_'I promise.'_

_'I pwomise too.'_

Oblivious to Harry's thoughts, Tonks came running towards them, she seemed out of breath as she carried the clothes Phoenix left in the trying room.

'Thank Merlin! There you are!' She cried and Phoenix pulled away from Regulus blushing, just now realizing who was comforting her. Sirius, who was closer, pulled her between him and Remus. They both rubbed her back in a comforting way as she unconsciously seeked comfort in their arms.

'What happened?' Remus asked. Sirius was occupied trying to calm Phoenix down.  
>'I don't know! One moment she was okay, then when she stepped out of the trying room she was all bruised and I got startled and then she ran away.' Tonks said helplessly.<br>Phoenix then pulled away from Sirius shaking and walked towards her brother, who stared at her with an unspoken question.

'S-She r-reminded me of... of Aunt Petunia when she s-screamed.' She told her brother quietly but Remus heard it.

'Cub-' He said kneeling down in front of her and tucking her hair behind her ear. 'It's okay. Tonks wouldn't hurt you and you're never going back to your Aunt's okay?' Phoenix nodded ashamed.

'S-Sorry' she apologised. Why did she always ruin everything?

'Don't. You did nothing wrong.'

After that Sirius paid for their things and they headed back to The Leaky Cauldron after concealing Phoenix's bruises. When they arrived home, the sun had already set and Tonks went home her, mind confused.

Upstairs, Remus helped Phoenix with her bags, putting her new things in the previous empty wardrobe. After that he left to cook dinner, since Sirius couldn't cook to save his life.

There was a knock on the door and Regulus poked his head inside.

'Err... Hi. Do you mind if I come in?' Phoenix shook her head embarrassed for being only on her pyjamas. He ran his hand through his hair. 'I-I wanted to talk to you.' He sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts before continuing. 'Look, I can't even imagine what you've been through. I won't say I know how you're feeling or anything. I wanted to say that I won't judge you for what you've been through. I know that if it was me instead of you and your brother I wouldn't have turned out fine. You're strong; I know you can get through this. Sirius and Remus love you. Heck, they love you like you're their own daughter and your brothers their son. T-They love you like I wish I had my father to love me.' He looked embarrassed at what he said. 'You are not alone. I know we never actually talked but know that you and your brother can count on me. Do you know what I see when I look at you? I don't see The-Twins-Who-Lived, I just see a boy and a girl that are broken inside and want to please everyone to be able to fit in. I see that they are scared of being alone but don't want to let people in because they are afraid that they'll be hurt again like they were many times before. They want to believe that they won't be hurt again but they were brought up not to believe that they deserved love.'

Phoenix was crying openly at this point, she hated that she was crying in front of him again. She didn't like to cry in front of people but these days it seemed to be the only thing she could do. He sat down on the floor beside her bed and looked up to where she was trying to get herself together.

'H-How?' She said quietly, wiping the last of her tears.

'Well, I always prized my ability to read people and to know how they're feeling.' He said with a cocky grin. She laughed at him quietly and he winked. Neither of them knew that Harry and Sirius were just outside hearing everything.

'Harry?' Sirius said as he looked down and saw Harry trying to wipe his tears. He put his arms around the shaking boy and led him the boy's bedroom where Harry started to cough with suppressed sobs. 'Calm down, pup.' Harry slid down on the floor next to the door and Sirius sat next to him and put an arm around the shaking boy, pulling him close. 'I'm here. Shh. You'll never be alone, never pup. We are a family, we will help you pup. There's no need to be scared. You won't go back to the Dursley's ever again.' Sirius pulled Harry onto his lap and rocked him back and forth. Whispering soothing words. 'I'm sorry we focused too much on your sister Harry, I really am.'

'Don't.' Harry said, his voice shaking. 'S-She needs you more than I do. I'm okay.'

'No, you're not Harry. She needs help and comfort as much as you do. Tell me what's in your head pup so I can help you. I won't leave you alone; I won't take you back to the Dursley's. Trust me Emerald. I was a fool to think you could be alright after everything.'

Harry cried openly on his godfather's shoulder as he told him everything that was in his head at the moment, he needed to let it out. How he failed protecting his sister, how he was scared Sirius and Remus would realise they were freaks and make them leave, how the words their relatives said had gotten to him, how no one could see past the-Boy-Who-Lived and how they expected great things from him, how he would give anything to be normal and have a family that loved him like everyone else did.

'Why didn't they love us Sirius? What did we do wrong?' Harry sobbed.

'I don't know pup. I just know that they didn't deserve to have you and your sister in their lives and what they did was wrong. The problem was them, not you. I love you Harry and Remus does too. You heard what Regulus said. I love you like you're my own. I-I want to adopt you and your sister Harry. I want you to be officially mine. I don't want to replace James, I just-'

It took a few seconds until everything Sirius said sank in and after it did, Sirius found himself gasping for air. Harry hugged Sirius tighter as he smiled between tears. He knew they would be alright now. He didn't know why but Sirius loved him and his sister, and nothing was better than to hear that.

Sirius mind drifted to one of the three teenagers that were part of his life. _'They love you like I wish I had my father to love me.' _He then realised that neither them nor the two remaining Marauders turned out unscathed of those 13 years. He vowed to do everything he could to make it better at a point that the happy memories would suppress the terrible ones that haunted their nightmares.

**A/N: Hello! I want to thank all of you for the reviews, alerts and favourites. I really appreciate it! Could you do it again? :) When I'm feeling down I read your reviews and they make me so happy! I told my best friend that today and she read some of your reviews, even she was smiling!**

**PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR VOTE ON THE POOL THAT'S IN MY PROFILE, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THIS STORY :)**

**I hope you liked this chapter, it turned out longer than I expected and quite different too but it seemed okay. Not my favourite chapter but I like Reggie's and Phoen's talk.**


	9. Whatever you need

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter and blah blah blah.**

***READ THE A/N AT THE END**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 8: Whatever you need**

Sirius reread the letter he received that morning for what could be the hundredth time. Dumbledore set the trial date for July, 20th and the Dursleys would be judged by the whole Wizengamot, not only by the Department of Magical Families and Homes like normally happened because it was about The-Twins-Who-Lived and of course something had to be different. Sirius was dreading the moment when he told them they would have to see their abusive Muggle relatives again, after him explicitly promising they wouldn't have to. Unfortunately, the Muggles still had the right to defend themselves. Would the twins think Sirius and Remus were sending them back? That their godfathers didn't want them anymore? Sirius worries were interrupted when there was a knock on the door.

'Come in.' He said looking up from the desk where his hands were supporting his head. These have been quite stressful days.

'Hey Uncle Sirius.' Regulus said poking his head inside of the bedroom before entering. He didn't know how to act, you could count in only one hand the number of times he entered his Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius' bedroom, and he was very little.

'Hey Reggie.' Sirius smiled at his nephew ignoring the pain in his heart. Regulus, his brother, was fourteen and Sirius sixteen when they acted like real brothers for the last time.

'_Don't Regulus.' A young Sirius said coolly to his little brother as he closed his last suitcase. 'You saw what _father_ did to me. Tonight was the last straw; I won't take it a little longer.'_

'_But Sirius...' Regulus looked into his brother's grey eyes so much like his own pleading. _

'_Don't beg Regulus, it doesn't look good for a Death Eater.' He said bitterly and Regulus tried to mask his hurt. They've been growing apart since Regulus was sorted into Slytherin and made friends with Death Eater's children. The stupid house prejudice acting again. No one talked to a Slytherin but a fellow snake, who would he be friends with? Regulus wasn't a Death Eater and he didn't want to be. _

_Sirius shrank his bags – living in a pureblood household had its privileges – and put them on his pocket. He was too proud and hot headed to apologise to his brother. He left his bedroom after making sure the bikini-clad muggle women and Gryffindor banners were safely stuck on the wall without looking back. He tried to ignore the pain on his limbs and the nausea he was feeling – courtesy of the Cruciatus – and headed to the drawing room where there was a fireplace located, taking one last look at the Black Family tapestry that soon would have another face burned off. He grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder-_

'_Please don't go Siri.' Regulus used his brother's nickname that he long ago stopped using, making Sirius turn back. 'I-I need you here.' His voice betrayed his emotions though he tried so hard not to let it happen. _

'_Easy for you huh? It wasn't you that suffered their wrath for the last five years or who's hated by your own family. Their little _Prince*_ this, Regulus that. You are the perfect pawn to be given to Voldemort, you know that? I hope you realise what they are turning you into because there'll be no turning back. I love you Reggie, I really do. Please don't do anything stupid and sort out who your friends are. Don't go out with the next Dark Lady like that Cassandra Crouch, she's as dark as her eyes.' Regulus was about to protest but didn't. Sirius hadn't said he loved him for a long time. 'Bye Regulus. Take care of yourself.' Sirius shouted Potter Manor after throwing the magical powder on the fireplace and was gone with a whoosh of flames. _'Love you too, Siri.'_ Was the last thing he heard._

'Uncle Sirius?' Regulus called waving his hand in front of his Uncle's face.

'Huh? Oh, sorry Regulus. I dozed off for a moment.' Sirius said coming back from his flashback, he's been getting them a lot now that he was free of the Dementors.

'I came to tell you that there's a letter for you downstairs. It looks like it's from the Ministry.' Sirius smiled inwardly. It was something related to the adoption. He sent a letter to the Ministry two nights ago after he talked to Harry. Normally a trial would be required but with Dumbledore's influence, Lily and James' will and the fact that Sirius was already their guardian and adding the abuse that made it all easier.

'Thank you Reggie. Why don't you sit? I wanted to talk to you, actually.' Regulus gulped and sat down on his Uncle's armchair. 'You did nothing wrong, don't worry. It's just that we've barely talked since you arrived here. It must be difficult for you to adjust into a whole new life.

'Not really. Don't worry about me Uncle Sirius. I know that Harry and Phoenix need you more than ever right now.' Regulus said with a small smile and looked down.

'Hey-' Sirius knelt down in front of his nephew and lifted his chin up. 'I want to be there for you. I love you too Regulus. I want you to know that okay?'

'I-I know that Uncle Sirius.' He cursed his shaky and surprised voice.

'See? That's my point Regulus, you don't. I want to share good and bad memories with you. I want you to be comfortable enough to come to me to ask about your dad, school things and even girls. You remind me so much of your dad, not just your looks but the way you treat people and know exactly what they are feeling.' With that sentence Regulus confirmed his suspicions that his Uncle heard everything he said yesterday. 'But you remind me a lot of my younger self too. Brought up in a pureblood family, being labelled a blood traitor because you didn't share their beliefs. I understand more than you think, pup. Let me be there for you and give you the love you want so badly.' Regulus could only nod. Sirius opened his arms and the younger boy buried his head in his Uncle's chest shamelessly. He didn't cry nor speak; he didn't feel the need to.

Sirius pulled away, his eyes wet. 'You know, there was this one time when...' Sirius then launched himself on a tale of when he and Regulus' father put mice in the bedroom where Narcissa was staying in Grimmauld Place.

That afternoon you could find them all together in the drawing room. Phoenix was reading a book called _The History behind Hogwarts – The truth about the founders_ written by a witch called Odette Lawstern which she borrowed from the library after Remus reassured her it was okay when he saw her reading the same book for the third time. Remus was writing something on a parchment – which was already reaching the floor – concentrating. Regulus and Sirius were playing a rather violent game of Wizard Chess and Harry was sitting next to his sister reading a book about Quidditch that Regulus offered to loan him.

Finally an owl arrived, this one carrying the documents for the adoption. The owl that arrived earlier that day brought another form that needed to be filled to request the documents much to Sirius' disappointment. The barn owl dropped a thick envelope adorned with the Ministry seal on Sirius' lap and he opened it with shaky hands oblivious to his surroundings.

_Magical Adoption_

_I, Sirius Orion Black, born in January 17th, 1960 adopt Harry James Potter and Phoenix Lily Potter son and daughter of James Henry Potter and Lily Marie Evans Potter murdered on October 31st, 1981 and swear on my magic to protect them at all costs. I understand and accept the responsibility that comes with raising magical children and swear to support them as long as I live. _

Under that was the place where they would sign.

'What's that Padfoot?' Remus asked looking at his long time friend. Sirius handed Remus the document and ran a hand through his hair nervously as he read. Remus beamed at him and stood up to give his friend a hug. Then, they both turned to the teenagers that were looking at the confused.

'Harry' Sirius said with a solemn expression that made Harry nervous. 'Do you remember what I told you two nights ago?' The small boy nodded hesitantly. 'Did you tell your sister?' Just as Sirius suspected his godson shook his head. He was about to ask why when he realised the reason. 'Harry, I'm not going back on my word. I still want to adopt you both; I love you like you're my own children since I held you for the first time that summer night. I want you to know this is real and that I won't leave you not now, not for a very, very long time. I want to take care of you.' Sirius paused to take a breath and to prepare himself for what he was about to say. Remus and Regulus had long left the room. 'I'm not trying to take James' place, I wouldn't be able to do that nor want to. James was like a brother to me and he-he told me that if anything happened to him I was to take care of you like you were my own. Nothing will change if you don't want it to. This is just my way to reassure you that we are family and are together until the end.'

Only then Sirius noticed that tears were streaming down not only his face but the twins' too. 'I won't pressure you to do that. You don't have to... I mean it's too soon. You barely know me a-and-' Sirius babbled when the twins didn't say anything, they were trying to process the information.

'D-Do you mean it?' Phoenix asked quietly.

'I promise.'

She smiled and for the first time it reached her eyes like did Harry's. 'What do we do?' Harry asked and Sirius gave him the parchment and a quill that were on the table behind him. They both signed with shaky hands, neither of them noticed when a tear fell from their eyes and stained the parchment. Then Sirius signed and each of them let a drop of blood fall where their names were written to authenticate it.

'W-Will you be our dad now?' Phoenix asked half scared half hopeful her emotions were shinning on her piercing green eyes... Was it really happening? Or was it just product of their imagination?

'I will be whatever you need me to be.' Sirius smiled, all would be well.

**A/N: So, this chapter is really short but I didn't feel like I could add anything more to it without losing focus. I hope you like it anyway. I wrote it on my Chemistry notebook lol**

**DO YOU WANT PHOENIX AND HARRY TO CALL SIRIUS DAD AT FIRST OR THINGS TO GO SLOWLY?**

***Regulus means Prince :) (I have a thing about the meaning of a name)**

**I want to say a special thank you for my friend Corbin (RaveNRebel); you're brilliant and thank you for your support. And also thank you for everyone who reviewed, favourited and subscribed, I really appreciate it. Review? ;)**


	10. The Time is Running Out

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.**

**Explanations on the A/N at the end of this chapter. Please read! + **SHOULD I WRITE AN ONE-SHOT ABOUT REGULUS AND PHOENIX'S SORTING? (review your answer or vote on the poll that's on my profile page)****

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter ****9: ****The ****Time ****is ****Running ****Out**

Two weeks had passed and the trial would be in five days. Even if the time was running out, Sirius couldn't make himself say the words.

The twins were doing better, physically at least. Phoenix's leg was almost 100% again and you could clearly notice that most of the bruises that covered her battered body were less visible; in fact, some of them were even gone. The same with Harry's. He did all he could to ignore the increasing pain on his right lung - he supposed it was punctured slightly by his healing ribs when he flooed- but he didn't tell anyone. It wasn't worth bothering Sirius and Remus with, he had worse in the past after all.

The weeks after the adoption went as normal as they could in the Marauder's Household. Sirius was still Sirius for Harry and Phoenix, even though he was legally their father. He insisted nothing had to change and that he didn't want them to feel like he was trying to replace James. The Twins were more relaxed with Sirius after that, it was like he knew exactly what was going through their heads – which he probably did. Even if they were still wary, scared of everything, Sirius always made them feel better and they didn't know how to act with all the - could it be love? - he was showing. They didn't want to make him angry doing or saying the wrong thing. The twins could see the pain in his eyes every time they flinched or tensed when touched and tried their best to stop the habit, but 13 years of abuse couldn't be deleted or forgotten that easily.

Remus different from Professor Lupin, was more carefree and looked younger and he seemed to make his special mission to fill the twins up - he could give the Weasley matriarch a run of her money. He was always the one who remembered the schedule of the twins' potions being his usual responsible self and he was always happy to help them with school work and everything they needed.

Regulus was sarcastic and much like his Uncle, couldn't take off that cheeky grin from his face (though you could barely see Sirius' anymore). He seemed trying to get closer to the twins - especially Phoenix. Trying is the keyword. They were getting used to him since he could be seen many times having a one-way conversation with the twins. You could see that the twins didn't want to push him away but didn't know how to act around new people, especially Phoenix.

Harry had two friends at Hogwarts, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger but Phoenix had no one but her brother. Sure, she was around them many times but she couldn't say they were their friend, the Weasleys – Ron had six brothers, two who had already left Hogwarts – were very loud. That's why Harry was seen near Ron when his brothers weren't around. Hermione was very bookish like Phoenix but she didn't like competition and being the second best and Phoenix – who could give Hermione a run for her money – would rather not cause a fight. And of course there was also the fact that she was too shy to talk to anyone, the fear her Uncle inflicted upon her was still there, even if she didn't see him for the most part of the year. Harry somehow was the last 'damaged' of the two since he didn't suffer the sexual abuse but his failure at protecting his sister along with being taught that everything bad was his fault, gave him a huge inferiority complex.

Mentally Harry and Phoenix were still the same, even if they wanted to relish of the feeling of being safe, they couldn't, because they had never known what it was before and every progress was dulled by the blood-filled nightmares that haunted their nights. They could be seen sneaking into each other's bedrooms late at night, seeking comfort. It could seem foreign for other siblings but it's their reality for so long that it was difficult to let go of it.

Sirius, Remus and even Regulus tried to talk to them about it but the twins refused to say anything about their past, the only thing Sirius and Remus knew was what the twins told them when they woke up two weeks ago and this would make everything more difficult since Harry and Phoenix would need to testify and show memories of the abuse at the trial. There was more to it than they let on and it hurt Sirius not to know what he could do to help. The twins still flinched at every touch, harsh move or loud noises and would shrink away from anyone who did something they weren't expecting. Their relatives taught them well to fear what could happen next if you weren't on your guard.

Currently Sirius and Remus were having a heated argument in the study. An argument that both of them were so familiar with that could recite the words out loud.

'Sirius, you can't postpone it any longer. The trial is in five days and the twins need to prepare themselves for it. When you delay it you are depriving them of precious time.' The werewolf sighed and ran a hand through is greying hair. 'They have to know what is going on, you can't let them go there and be surprised. It'd destroy every little bit of progress we've made.' Sirius took a deep breath and ran a hand none-too-gently through his face, leaving red marks where his fingers touched.

'Don't you see it Remus? From the moment I tell them that they'll have to face their relatives - whom we promised they wouldn't have to see ever again, mind you - it'll all be destroyed. I can't do that Remus. I can't say the words which might and probably will destroy everything. I can't turn their nightmares into reality. I won't let them suffer because of those muggles again.'

Remus knew where this was leading on, even if it was the first time Sirius mentioned it. Of course Sirius was still blaming himself, he wouldn't be Padfoot if he didn't. Remus was a fool to believe that Sirius had gotten over it so easily.

'I know that Sirius. And it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen when you followed the rat.' He said tiredly, the full moon would be in a few days and Remus would be transforming in the locked basement, even if he'd rather go to somewhere safer. The basement was warded and it was almost impossible to open it from the inside as human without a wand, let alone as a werewolf without an opposable thumb and that was Sirius' way to convince him.

'But I did it anyway! If it wasn't for my selfish thinking they would've grown up in a loving family. If it wasn't for me Lily and James would still be here!' Sirius buried his face in his hands as Remus put a hand on his shoulder.

'They agreed Sirius. James trusted Peter with his family. It was the rat's choice to betray them. It was Voldemort's choice to cast the curse. Not yours.' Remus said and took a deep breath. 'I wish it could be different Padfoot. But if this is the only way to put the Dursleys-' He spitted out the name. 'In prison. You-'

'You! You! You! Why don't you tell them if it's so easy?' The ex-convict jumped up from the chair he was sitting on and started to pace around the study.

'Because they trust you, Sirius.' The werewolf said tiredly. Sirius was about to interrupt when Remus silenced him with a look. 'They trust you more. They completely adore you. You can relate to them, you know what they are going through and what they need to hear. You're their father, Sirius.'

'Only on paper.' Sirius mumbled.

'And in heart. They look up to you; they want your approval for everything. Didn't you notice? You have to tell them Padfoot, their trust and health is in game right now.'

Sirius stopped pacing and took a deep breath - he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. 'I guess it's time for our first family meeting.'

However, the expression 'Family Meeting' was not adequate for that moment since Remus and Regulus went somewhere while Sirius talked to the twins about the trial. 'Way to help me Moony!' Sirius thought sarcastically.

Sirius sat down on the coffee table and looked in the twins' eyes. They were looking at him apprehensively and scared. The tension in the room was almost palpable.

'You know what your relatives did to you was wrong don't you?' Sirius started in the best way he could think of, though it wasn't good at all. Sirius didn't function well under pressure.

The twins looked down and didn't answer. Phoenix took her hand up to her mouth and started to bit her nails while Harry fidgeted with the hem of his shirt; nervous habits which Sirius was quick to notice.

'Stop that Phoenie; you'll end up hurting your fingers.' Sirius took her hand in his gently and did the same to Harry's and he knelt down in front of his godchildren not noticing that his voice sounded harsher than he intended to.

'S-S-Sorry.' She said quietly.

'You have nothing to be sorry for.' he kissed her hand and gave Harry's a squeeze. 'Hey, look at me.' They looked at him rather reluctantly. 'What they did was very wrong and you absolutely did _not_ deserve it.' You could clearly see in the twins' eyes that they didn't believe him though they _wanted_to. Sirius was about to ask if they trusted him but the words that came out of his mouth were different. Maybe it was because unconsciously he was afraid of the answer. 'Did I ever lie to you?' He asked and the twins shook their heads quickly. 'So trust me on this okay? I only want the best for you.'

'O-Okay' Harry and Phoenix answered in unison.

'What they did was wrong so they have to be punished for it. We requested a trial to make sure they get what they deserve and it will be in five days.' The room was silent as the twins processed the information, their face blank. Sirius decided it was best to get over with it sooner rather than later. 'You'll have to testify and they will request some memories.' Sirius could see them both shaking and put a hand on their shoulders. 'I will be there, Remus will be there too. You won't be alone. I won't let them touch you or even look at you.'

Sirius panicked as the twins tried to get up and run out of the room, luckily the door was closed and he managed to grab them. He pulled them both to his chest and held them firmly yet gently as they tried to get away. One of them or maybe it was both combined in a burst of accidental magic knocked him out of his feet with a strong wind and blasted open the door. They both ran out of the room leaving a lost Sirius on the floor trying to process what happened. He than got up and ran out of the room to search for his favourite godchildren.

Phoenix and Harry ran out of the room as if they were fighting for their lives, what in their minds they were. They didn't have to run much though, they found a door very different from the ones in the rest of the manor. This one wasn't majestic with golden doorknobs as the others. The door looked slightly worn and heavy as if it wasn't supposed to be there. It seemed to camouflaged.

In a burst of magic they opened it and ran down the stairs, barely registering that the door had closed itself and that they didn't know how to turn the lights on. They huddled themselves in a corner, keeping close to each other though it didn't seem to help to stop the memories swirling their mind.

Harry couldn't think of anything but the fact that he would have to see his relatives again, the ones who hurt and beat him for thirteen years of his life. They were trapped in the nightmares of their past. Flashback kept running through the twins' minds, similar yet different. They couldn't get out of there; in their minds no one came to save them they were more alone than ever. The red of blood was suffocating; they could feel the pain all over again, even though it was psychological. Their breath was ragged and they were pale, they heard screams and later would notice that it was theirs.

_Harry was six, he was gardening his Aunt's prized flowers. She would have a meeting of her Gardening Club and that afternoon would happen in #4 Privet Drive and everything had to be perfect so she could show of to her snob 'friends'._

'_Are you done boy?' He heard his Aunt Petunia shriek as he wiped the sweat out of his forehead with the dirty sleeve of his long sleeved shirt. It was summer and he could feel the sun burning his skin. His throat was dry for spending the day without as much as a glass of water. He wondered where his sister was and if she was safe. He forced the fear down his throat as he heard thundering footsteps from behind him. Someone lifted him up from the scruff of his neck and he immediately knew who it was._

'_What do you think you're doing boy? Taking a rest? We keep you here because of the goodness in our hearts and you do nothing but burden us.' He kept his voice low so he wouldn't catch the neighbour's attention but it was still threatening. 'Let us see what you will be when I'm done with you boy.'_

_He was to frightened to say anything when his Uncle grabbed the gardening fork that was on the corner. He knew he was in for it this time. He barely notice when they entered the house and his Uncle started to scream insults at him. _

'_UNGRATEFUL FREAK! THAT'S WHAT WE'VE GOT FOR TAKING YOU IN! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED WITH YOUR PARENTS! THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER OF WITHOUT YOU!' Vernon Dursley kicked and stabbed his small nephew with the fork not even flinching with the amount of blood that came out of the previous wounds._

_Phoenix was standing on her tiptoes as she tried to set the table without seeing what she was doing since she was prohibited to get on the chair. She distantly heard the sound of a glass shattering and she sat on the floor and tried to make herself invisible even though it never worked. She knew she would be punished for it and the so dreaded moment came when Petunia Dursley lifted the four year old by the hair and carried her to the stove when she grabbed the small hands and pressed them on the hot grill. Phoenix tried to keep herself from crying out loud as she felt the calloused skin of her hands – not like the hands of other four year old – disrupt. She could feet hot blood streaming down her fingers and it only seemed to make her Aunt angrier that she was dirtying the spotless stove. What she felt next was the boiling water that was being heated for tea being poured on her. Her limbs burned in agony as she cried._

'_SHUT UP YOU B*TCH! HOW COULD YOU BREAK THAT GLASS? DIDN'T I TEACH YOU ANYTHING? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GO BREAKING MY THINGS AND DON'T PAY?' Aunt Petunia yelled, her usual well kept blond hair falling down her face. 'YOU USELESS FREAK! YOU'LL PAY NOW.'_

Unaware it wasn't really happening; Harry and Phoenix were shaking on the floor tears streaming down their face. The non familiar room seemed even scarier now that screams filled the previous silence but different from the screams of a transforming werewolf these where screams of terror from two thirteen year olds who'd seen too much and couldn't bear it.

Sirius searched the whole house twice without stopping to even breathe properly. His heart was beating fast and he could feel something was wrong. His mind was creating millions of scenarios where the twins were bleeding and being tortured by a nameless face. He then passed running through the study door for the third time when he noticed something. On the floor there was a rug and over the rug was a hair band and in front of it was the basement door. The only room he hadn't thought about checking.

Sirius blasted the door open at once, not bothering with what he destroyed in the way. He ran down the stairs much like the twins did fifteen minutes ago and what was waiting for him at the end was much alike and different from what his vivid imagination came up with.

The twins' eyes were unfocused and almost white; you could barely see their irises. They were letting out blood curling screams and Sirius didn't protest when his body moved automatically towards them. They looked like they were in another place, another reality.

He crunched down next to them and somehow managed to pin both of them down. He shouted their names to get some response but had none. How he wished Remus hadn't talked him into telling the twins alone. He lost all notion of time as he mumbled soothing words and called the twins' names. They were still thrashing under his restraining hands when Sirius felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see his fourteen year old nephew's pale face, normally he would have asked him to leave but somehow his body didn't answer to his commands. Regulus looked and was terrified. He'd never thought something like this could happen. His white face was even whiter and the cheeky grin was absent from his serious face. His eyes were dull as handed his uncle a Calming Draught but he didn't seem to realise it. Remus was trying to pry Phoenix from Sirius hands but he wouldn't release her.

Remus and Regulus went to the village near their house to give Sirius some time to talk the twins but Remus felt something was wrong and they both apparated the closest to the house they could, though it wasn't close at all. Then they ran more than they'd ever done and arrived to find the house open but Remus with his enhanced smell sense even better because of the fool moon smelt blood and fear. They could hear screams coming from the basement, somehow the wards had fallen. Remus summoned Calming Draughts and threw the door open.

Regulus and Remus managed to get through Sirius' arms and pour the potion down the twins' throats just as they closed their eyes in exhaustion. But thankfully now, they were sleeping.

Sirius who seemed to have unfrozen now let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding and surveyed the room. His hands were red from the blood coming from the twins as they carved their nails into their skin. The room was a mess, the little furniture that had in the basement was thrown into pieces on the floor. Remus – he now noticed he was there – was shaking and pale, his eyes yellow and wolfish. Regulus seemed perturbed, as if he'd never seen something so terrible.

Harry was sweaty and pale; his raven coloured hair was sticking to his forehead and contrasting with his abnormally white skin. Sirius brushed the hair out of his godson's face and left his hand there. Phoenix red hair looked like lava around her face and was the only thing that had some colour.

'Uncle Sirius?' Sirius looked at Regulus with tired eyes and tried – and failed – to smile.

'You shouldn't have seen that.'

Regulus ignored and asked in a small voice. 'Are you okay?'

Sirius nodded. 'They will be fine.' He said like he was trying to convince himself.

'I asked if _you_ are okay.'

Sirius smiled shakily and ruffled his nephew's hair. 'I'll live.'

After a while Remus and Sirius gathering the twins in their arms and took them to somewhere comfortable upstairs while Regulus made tea for the three of them.

Before being forced out of his darkened bedroom Sirius took a last look to the bed where his children were sleeping peacefully – he hoped. They didn't look any different from other teenagers their age but Sirius knew that in muggle or wizarding world, they would always be different. They would always be singled out.

When the twins woke up it was evening and it took a while to remember what happened. Phoenix snuggled closer to her brother as he put an arm around her. He knew exactly what she was feeling and the other way around. He kissed the top of her head and tried to comfort her, even if he needed comfort as well.

'We'll be okay, Phoenie.' He tried to convince himself as much as he tried to convince her. But they both knew he was failing miserably.

That's how Sirius found them when he woke up from the voices and transformed back to human. He was quick to jump out of the end of his bed and with a flick of his hand that was next to him the table light was turned on.

'How are you feeling?' He asked, his voice hoarse as he sat down next to them on the edge of the bed and extended his hand, setting them on his lap so they could see he wasn't about to strike them. Only thinking that in their mind it was a possibility was enough to make his heart ache.

'S-Sorry for t-today.' Harry said quietly and Phoenix looked at Sirius, her green eyes somewhat dull.

'You don't have to apologise.' Sirius said shaking his head. 'I would never do anything to hurt you. Or would Remus for that matter. I don't feel pleasure seeing you sad or hurt.' He sighed and grabbed their hands in his, much like he did when they started that conversation sooner that day. 'I need you to understand that, okay?'

'S-Sorry' they said in unison and looking down.

'Don't apologise for something you have no control over.' They opened their mouths again to apologise but swallowed the words before they could slip out of their mouths. 'I don't like it any more than you do. I promised you would never have to see them again and I have to break that promise and I apologise for it. But you have to know that I'm only doing that so I can mend and fulfil that promise in the future. To keep them away from you forever.'

Harry and Phoenix could see the pain in his eyes and looked down but Sirius tilted their heads back up so they were meeting his eyes.

'I will be there for you and with you. You will have to answer some questions and show them memories as I said earlier today and after that you'll never have to see them again. Can you do that for you? For me?' He said the last part quietly but his voice was filled with pain and the twins nodded. 'I love you like you are my own. I only want the best for you. I know you can't believe me now but I hope that in the future you will when I say it. I love you and you are not alone, you'll never be alone. I'm with you.' They nodded and tried to blink back the tears. Sirius held out his arms and gathered them in a hug; he kissed the top of their heads and mumbled nonsense words and let them cry in his arms as much as they wanted to. He moved and leaned into the headboard taking the twins with him. The way could be blurred and uncertain but they would cross that bridge together when the time came.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. My computer broke down and I had to send it to the repair. I'm rehearsing like crazy for my play and for my ballet presentation and on top of it all I had a really bad writer's block. I wrote three different versions of this chapter and I hope you liked this one, it is way better than the others. I also wanted to thank to my beta for his opinions and criticism, I really appreciate it.**

**I'd love to hear suggestions for the trial and the future of this story and I love reviews hahaha**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review your suggestions :) And the next chapter will be the Dursley's trial!**

**PS: If you want to see how Phoenix and Regulus look like tell me by Review or PM and I'll send you a link :) I won't post it here because I like personally like to imagine what the characters look like and I know some of you do as well.**

**SHOULD I WRITE AN ONE-SHOT ABOUT REGULUS AND PHOENIX'S SORTING? (review your answer or vote on the poll that's on my profile page)**


	11. Facing Fears

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognise.**

**Explanations on the A/N at the end of this chapter. Please read!**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

Chapter 10 - Facing Fears

Regulus couldn't sleep. His mind kept drifting back to his parents, to an idealised family he was sure he'd never had. The teenage boy didn't know how he could miss someone he'd never met but he did. He felt childish, he should be used to it by now. And here he was feeling like he didn't belong, as an intruder in his own home.

"Get a grip of yourself, Regulus. Don't go crying like a baby over some disappointment. You're almost fifteen, you can take care of yourself."

He understood that this was not an easy phase for his family. He knew that the twins were deprived of any affection and were badly traumatised. While his Aunt and Uncle didn't love him (or at least never showed it), they were never cruel towards him. More like indifferent but even then, it was just recently. Regulus didn't want to get in the way of his "cousins" recovery. That's the reason he got to know better his former DADA professor. The young werewolf felt out of place as much as he did. Regulus got himself thinking a lot these days, and it seemed that the talk with his Uncle laid forgotten.

Regulus felt thirsty and uneasy. He pushed the bed sheets away, put on his slippers and got out of the bed. Feeling his way through his bedroom, he stepped out in the corridor, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the less illuminated space. He was surprised when he saw a small shape on the floor, that small shape was a person, a thirteen-year-old girl to be precise.

Phoenix was right in the middle of the dark corridor, lit only by the moon light that entered Regulus' bedroom and consequently the place as he opened the door. Her face was hidden between her knees, and silent sobs were rocking her body. Her eyes were unfocused and she seemed in pain. It seemed that she had another nightmare, and her legs had given in as she made her way to Harry's bedroom, which was few steps from hers, seeking comfort that only her brother could give her. She knew he wouldn't be mad at her, he wouldn't judge. He'd just play the big brother part and forget his own pain as he held her tight and she cried.

The trial was tomorrow, or today since it was the middle of the night, and the closer it got to the day of the trial, more vicious were the flashbacks and nightmares that haunted the twins' minds. Sometimes, Sirius would give them a Dreamless Sleep Potion but it only brought a few nights of peace because of the high risk of addiction that made impossible to repel all the dark dreams. Phoenix as always was careful not to make a sound and she had 12 years of practice in that area.

Her nightmare included her worst memories, as well as her biggest fears and left her in a state that you could barely recognise her. Her voice, already weak, was even hoarser because of the screams that would wake everyone up if it wasn't for the silencing charm she cast, as did her brother, taking advantage of the fact that were two fully grown wizards in the house and her long afternoons surrounded by books about the Wizarding Society in the Hogwarts Library. The inhabitants of the household assumed that she just was afraid of sleeping alone and that was the reason she went to her brother's bedroom. Since they slept together all their lives, and for the traumatic experience the remaining Potters went through they supposed it was a normal thing.

She was drenched in sweat, her body was trembling, her breathing was ragged and her mouth open in a silent scream.

That's how Regulus found her and in a heartbeat rushed to her aid.

"Phoenix! Are you okay?" He said analysing her shaking frame. She got even more scared of the sudden noise and tried to back away. Tears streamed fast down her face but she had yet to make a noise. "Shh sweetheart, it's okay now. I'll take you to Uncle Sirius, you'll be okay." No one would believe that the reserved heir of the House of Black could be able to act that way. With so much tact and care in his voice. He knelt down on the floor in front of her and tried to at least get her to calm down a little. "It's just me, Regulus. It's okay, you're safe. I won't hurt you. Shh. Breathe In and Out. That's it. Calm down Phoenie. You're okay, I'm here. Come, let me take you to Uncle Sirius."

She then panicked and started to cry harder, her haunted emerald eyes searching for a way out as they always did when facing a difficult situation. The only word she heard in her mind was "Uncle" and it was echoing in different tones and different memories were playing in her head. The word's meaning being connected with pain in her troubled mind. Regulus then did the only thing he could to stop her struggling, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer to his chest, tucking her head under his chin ignoring the fact that they only properly met a few weeks ago and that she was almost on his lap. He whispered soothing words and rocked the way too small girl a little, he ran his hand through her hair and shook his head to stop his active imagination of creating possible scenes of nightmares. He had never seen something so devastating as the small girl at the moment. She looked young and broken, her eyes lifeless, she was sweating and pale. It was the image of a child that suffered too much and lost what made her a kid, the innocence. Regulus tried to reassure her that she was safe as she finally gave in and relaxed in his arms, burying her face on his shirt.

She calmed down a little bit, regaining her breath.

"S-S-Sor-r-ry" She said quietly when she noticed what she had done. She didn't mean to bother him or to break down. To stain his pyjamas with her disgusting tears as her uncle used to say. With the filth that came from her body. What if he heard her and came here to get her in trouble as Dudley used to do? Would he tell his Uncle? Would she get punished? In her mind the answer was yes.

"Hey, don't worry baby. I'm here to help you, remember? You're safe, Shhhh. Let me help you okay?" He stood up and helped her to do the same. Keeping a steady arm around her for her balance and comfort. "Can you walk?" He asked as she swayed on her feet but she nodded, tears still streamed down her face. He started to make his way to Sirius' bedroom more and more worried with every passing second and letting her go when she tensed and struggled to get away. But then Phoenix seemed to realise where he was taking her because whimpered and backed away hitting the table and breaking an ancient vase in the process. She then started to go back to the state she was in. Her breathing was irregular and her feet bloodied where the porcelain shards hit her. She then let out a cry and bit her lip as a failed try to muffle the sound, the only thing he could make out was the pleas of sorry as she backed away even more, cutting her feet.

She wouldn't wake Sirius up, he would be mad and she'd get in trouble, he'd regret adopting them and send the twins back to the Dursleys. He would say how ungrateful she was and hit her, pierce her with the pieces of the broken porcelain as her Uncle Vernon had always done. He would abandon them and give them away to the Dursleys, if they even accepted them back. She tried so hard not to make a sound, to go unnoticed but here she was crying her heart out and destroying the house in the process. Phoenix didn't worry about the shards that cut and entered on her feet, she had a high tolerance to pain and her feet would be the less of her problems in a few minutes. She backed away even more and let out a startled cry as Regulus lifted her into his arms to stop her from stepping in a bigger shard of porcelain and hurting herself even more. If she was in her right mind she would have gone red for a boy practically her age was carrying her like a baby. She didn't need it, she could take care of herself. But now her mind was occupied with the vivid ideas of scenarios that her brain had come up with. She tried to get away of him but he was too strong, her mind drifted to her childhood and how Dudley's friends used to hold her still as he hit her. Her distorted mind ignoring the obvious care of how he held her.

Regulus' whispers of comfort were unnoticed as Phoenix tried to breathe during the panic attack. Her body was tense and she could already feel the pain. She was waiting for the inevitable blow when three doors opened and out of them stepped Sirius, Remus and Harry decreasing fast the distance to the teenagers.

"What have you done to my sister?" said Harry with fire in his eyes. His voice was shaking because of the shed tears and repressed rage. His eyes had purple circles around them for the many lost battles against sleep, followed by vivid nightmares. If you looked closer you would notice Harry's blood-shot eyes and tear stained face. Remus put a hand on his shoulder to restrain him and rubbed his back soothingly as he looked down at the young boy. "Shh Harry, calm down. Regulus wouldn't hurt her. None of us would." He said trying not to rush and gather the trembling girl in his arms.

"I found her here, fallen in the middle of the corridor." Regulus said pleading his Uncle to understand as he rubbed Phoenix back. "I tried to calm her and take her to Uncle Sirius but she panicked and knocked that vase off the table." He said and Sirius gathered the trembling girl in his arms. You couldn't hear what he was whispering in her ear, but he then pointed his wand to the broken vase and said: "Reparo" and broken pieces flew in the direction of the bigger part of the vase from everywhere, including Phoenix's feet. She bit her lip to hold back a cry as a tear fell.

Sirius let out a breath and apologised, kissing the top of her ginger head. "Shh baby, that's okay. He is not here, it's Sirius. I will protect you baby, you'll be okay." He held the too light girl with one arm as he wiped her tears with his free hand. "It's better if Remus treats your wound. He knows a bit of healing. Okay? You're not in trouble, Flamie." He said looking at the werewolf who nodded and motioned to go to her room. Phoenix didn't believe her godfather's words.

The five of them walked in silence, Remus still leading Harry and keeping his unofficial godson close. To comfort which one of them he didn't know. Arriving at the pink and red bedroom, Remus lit up the lights with a flick of his wand. Sirius put the girl down on the bed and had to school his expression so the hurt wouldn't show when she crawled away from all of them. Harry gathered her in his arms and whispered something in her ear. He rocked her and sat down, taking care to position her in a way that her bloodied feet wouldn't stain the bed. She sat on her brother's lap ignoring the childish behaviour as he circled his arms around her and whispered quietly in her year.

Remus had left the bedroom to gather some first aid potions and stuff and Sirius went to the kitchen to prepare hot chocolate for the five of them. Regulus who was watching their interaction with interest from the corner walked and knelt down in front of them. He carefully touched Phoenix face and when she looked at him with haunted green eyes he wiped her tears with his thumb. Harry watched their interaction with interest and felt the urge to pull his sister closer and protect her heart from the boy.

"Thank you, Regulus. For today, I mean." Harry said quietly but trying to project confidence in his voice.

"Not a problem mate. Don't worry about it" Regulus said as he took a look at Phoenix feet and the blood that was dripping to the wood. She looked pale. He then took her hand and gave it a squeeze as Remus came in with some muggle and magic healing tools.

He knelt down in front of the twins, occupying Regulus' place, and took Phoenix hand in his.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" He analysed her shaking frame and automatically knew the answer. "I won't hurt you. You did nothing wrong. You won't be punished. We are not mad at you." Remus chose his words carefully and watched as doubt flickered in her eyes before being repressed again by fear. He sighed and lifted her feet to his lap, so he could have a better look. "It might sting a bit, I will clean it first the muggle way. I'm afraid I don't know even half of what Poppy does." He attempted to joke. "You might want to hold your sister's hand, Harry." He didn't need to tell as Harry was already holding her tight.

Remus cleaned the wound first in the muggle way, removing the blood with a gauze and some maroon liquid. Then he cleaned it the magical way and closed the wound with a simple flick of his wand, leaving only light red marks to evidence the cut. All the while Phoenix did not make a sound. She bit her lip and buried her face in the brook of her brother's neck as he rubbed her back. They didn't notice Sirius coming in followed by a levitating tray with five mugs, he gave a sad smile at the scene and made his presence known as Remus lifted Phoenix's feet and laid it on the bed, giving a kiss on her temple and ruffling Harry's hair.

Sirius then cleared his throat and gave a small smile when everyone turn around to look at him. "Who wants some hot chocolate?"

And that's how the five stayed until they fell asleep, the nightmare could be discussed tomorrow. The Potters had already the weight of the world on their shoulders tonight.

The noise of the crowd, the stern witch of the DMLE yelling "order", the slamming of doors. None of this could be heard as the twins set their eyes on the monsters that were meant to be their family. Time seemed to stand still as memories replayed themselves in their heads of beatings, insults and death threats, Harry and Phoenix would have gladly faced Voldemort twenty times over than this.

They could only see the rage in their relatives eyes, how Vernon's hands contorted at the sight of the "freaks" as if he wanted to punch them. Petunia stood still, staring at all the witches and wizards in disgust when she finally settled her eyes on the twins, her lips pursing in a thin line of hate.

Sirius and Remus felt the remaining Potters tense and guided them to their seats. All of them were dressed in wizard robes, except Phoenix who had a fine dress on. All over their body could be seen scars, the glamours were left behind that day, in which would be decided the fate of the only muggles in the enclosure.

"We are here for the trial of Mr. Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley and Mrs. Petunia Rose Dursley. The charges are child abuse, sexual abuse, torture of wizard and witch, starving of minor and mistreat against Mr. Harry James Potter and Miss Phoenix Lily Potter, both of thirteen years old, residents of number four Privet Drive until July 1st of 1994. Let the trial begin." Mrs. Oustorn said in a very solemn voice.

With every word she said, Sirius could feel Harry tremble on his side and put an arm around him, just a Remus did the same to Phoenix.

Harry's mind was spinning, he could see the way his Aunt and Uncle were looking towards him. He could almost hear the sound of his Uncle malicious mind working on a new form of torture. He got his sister's hand in his. Hoping to concentrate in just the coolness of her hand, Harry squeezed it and closed his eyes. It proved to be a bad idea since images of his haunted childhood sprang on his mind. He snapped them open and found Sirius looking at him in concern. Harry took a deep breath and used all his strength to repress a coughing fit as he felt his lung ache. Since that day in Muggle London he'd been hiding that fact from everyone. Sirius pulled him close to his chest and kissed his temple. Harry tried to give a small smile but it turned into a grimace of pain as Sirius touched the sore point. His godfather looked at him worried but Harry only looked back to the judge, who was finishing interrogating the Dursleys.

"I call Miss Potter to the stand," said a toad-faced witch, who was sitting near the Minister for Magic.

Phoenix say everyone turn to take a look at the Girl-Who-Lived. She saw her relatives stare at her with loath, their gazes locked and she felt unable to look away, unaware her limbs were trembling, her nerves were in collapse. It was like a black hole inside her, turning everything into a nightmare. Her past came back all at once and she wanted to run away. To just live in an alternative universe so she wouldn't have to feel all this pain again.

"Hem-hem" The witch called again. "I'm afraid we don't have all the time in the world for you, Miss Potter."

Phoenix felt her legs carry her to her doom. Her new family following her with eyes full of concern. She felt her feet slip and arms catching her before she fell, arms of an almost stranger-yet-familiar boy. She climbed down the stairs. She felt deaf, blind, senseless.

As she sat down, eyes still locked in the devils that caused her so much pain.

"Could you describe your life with the Dursley Family for me, Miss Potter." Madam Umbridge said with a sickly sweet voice, but that didn't disturb Phoenix state, nor made it better. The old witch cleared her throat and stepped closer to Phoenix. "Could you?" Nothing. Just pain, psychological pain that was almost physical. Dark, everything dark, flashes of red, beetle-like eyes, moustache, red face, blood, so much blood.

She locked at her Uncle's eyes and-

Flashback

The whale-like man came closer, leaning down to level his eyes with the ten year old girl.

"Not a word, freak." He said maliciously.

She gulped and closed her eyes and pain was inflicted upon her, nothing she wasn't used to. When she felt her limbs go limp, blood cover her body, she was violated one more time.

End of Flashback

"I-I c-can't," she mouthed and ran out of the room, out of the nightmare that stalked her everywhere. Away from the memories that lived inside her.

That was when hell broke lose. Screams, confusion, rage. Everything seemed to stop when the girl ran away.

Sirius, Remus, Regulus and Harry tried to follow her in the middle of the riot. Harry felt someone seize him by the arm and punch his face, he looked in the so familiar moustache and beetle eyes. His legs shaking badly as his Uncle took revenge. He was thrown back and hit the stands, he gasped and everything blacked out. The last thing he heard was a faint cry of his name.

**A/N: Hello my dearest readers.**

**First of all I want to thank you all for all the support you gave me through it all and for not giving up on Phoenix like I almost did. **As those who read the AN/CHAPTER I just deleted know that I was/am with anorexia, that's why the long wait. **I have to say that I'm doing better, way better than I was. I'm almost in the normal weight and my mind is a lot… calmer. You don't even know how much all your PMs meant to me, every word of support, everyone that said that I was not alone. Between you all I made great friends, as my friend Lucie (1945) who helped me with this chapter and through it all. Just wanted to say thank you for everything you did to help me, a complete stranger. That's why I love this fandom so much, even if we don't know each other, if one needs we're all there with a extended hand wanting to help. I am really thank you and sorry for the long wait. This chapter was very hard for me to read giving the circumstances but your words of support and your helping hand made everything more bearable. I lost some friends but I gain others who don't even know me, yet were there when my so called "friends"weren't. I love you all, so much.**

**Thank you for everything and sorry if I disappointed you with this, I did my best.**

**A special thank you again for my Beta and my friend Lucie, who helped me with this chapter. **

**Any ideas, suggestions, and questions don't be afraid of PMing me :)**

**Review and Follow?**


	12. The Clashing of the Siblings

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

Chapter 11 - The Clashing of the Siblings

Phoenix was out of breath. She ran until her surroundings were just a blur. The dark corridors of the ancient building didn't scare her, not more than what she left behind. Her tears fell down quickly and she didn't bother to wipe them. She just ran as if time didn't matter, as if she was running out of a loose rock on a cliff top. Her fears didn't comfort her, but they were a sign she was alive, that she could yet feel. Phoenix Potter wished she could know how life was without fear, but then it would be unpredictable. And surprises were never good, not for her.

She did not know where she was going as it was the first time she came in the Ministry of Magic but it didn't bother her. Nothing did. She looked numb but for her tears, it was like a fortress. Strong in the outside but if you entered it you could feel the panic and struggle to survive. She only stopped when someone caught her arm in a firm grip and turned her around.

Blond hair, pale face, thin nose, that's what her green eyes met. She had known those features for three years and the Malfoys liked to make an impression, good or bad.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the Girl-Who-Lived" Lucius sneered and smirked at her shaky frame. "I heard of your... Misfortune. Terrible indeed. How could you let those muggles do those things to you, though? How could the heroes of the Wizarding World be overtaken by mudbloods? But then, nothing special in your blood isn't it. Since your mum had dirt in hers." He said with holding her gaze with his cold dark eyes. "At least the Dark Lord wiped her filth, she's probably happy to be away from you, wherever she is."

Then they heard it, or rather the Head of the Malfoy family did. Cries with a hint of concern of Phoenix name. He looked at her with malice and gave one more squeeze on her arm before leaving a vulnerable and shaking girl behind. Mind swimming in a river of guilt.

She stood still where Lucius left her. She couldn't anything but her pounding heart and the blood rushing in her ears.

It was all true. They were weak, they let their relatives do that to them. Her mum would think they deserved it, so would their dad. Phoenix was sure they'd rather be dead than look at their freak of a daughter right now. They were probably happy she was still alive so they wouldn't have to stand her in death.

Remus reached her and put his hands on her shoulders. He bent down on her level so he could look in her eyes. He started talking but she didn't hear it. Disturbing images of the abuse were being replayed in their head, but the one beating her was James Potter and the one treating her like a slave was Lily.

"... you hear me Phoenix? You're not going back there. I wont let you. You're okay now, they are gone. I'm here, you're safe baby girl." Remus said and gathered the too small girl in a embrace. She then noticed that she was crying and shaking and in a moment of courage, hugged him back and buried her face on his dress robes. Remus was surprised for a moment, but rubbed her back as he felt her return the hug trying to give her the comfort she needed. It didn't matter what happened a few minutes ago in the trial room, not what would happen later. It was the present that mattered, Remus' belief of Phoenix progress with the returned hug. Neither did he know what was going on inside her troubled head. Not did realise that her begs of sorry weren't directed to him, were for her dead parents which in her mind, she killed.

Their hug was interrupted by a blue magical light. It took shape of a tortoise and spoke with the voice of the only metamorphmagus they knew.

"Harry was hurt. Sirius took him to St. Mungo's. They are waiting for you. Find Phoenix and go." Tonks' always cheerful voice was replaced with a sombre tone.

"I'll take us there. Hold on tight Phoenie" Remus said as he put his arms around her, and they both were squeezed in a tube immune of place and time.

Sirius ran after Phoenix, mentally cursing himself for putting her in that situation. He wondered what James and Lily would have done. Not that he wanted to take their place, but it would be good some guidance.

He never imagined himself as a parent, always as the fun and spoiling Uncle. Now that he was in the middle of this situation he confirmed that everything doesn't go as planned. Not that he regretted adopting the twins, it was just that he didn't feel good enough or responsible enough to take care of two teenagers. Love wasn't missing, just confidence.

He turned left on the corridor when he noticed that something was wrong. Harry wasn't with them, he felt his heart constrict and in a second turned around and transformed onto a dog for making his way back to the trial room. His nephew hot on his heels.

He arrived just in time to see the walrus-man grab his adopted son and godson from behind and flung a punch at him. Padfoot growled at the violence against his puppy, before he knew it he was back in his human form running towards Harry. Later he would regret not hexing Vernon Dursley, just a stunning wasn't even close to what he deserved.

Sirius knelt down next to Harry to see his pale face contort in pain. Harry groaned and coughed. Sirius rubbed his back and pulled the young boy close as he tried to call him down. The-Boy-Who-Lived fluttered his eyes open for a second and looked sadly at Sirius, looking way younger than he was. He then removed his hand from his mouth and what Sirius saw shocked him. Red fresh blood moistening his godson's mouth and slid down his face. Harry then closed his eyes.

Sirius paced in the waiting room, it felt like hours since the healers took Harry away from his blood stained arms. After Harry passed out, Sirius only had time to scream out for Tonks and tell her to find Remus. Leaving the panicking wizards and blacked out muggle behind.

He heart the sound of the elevator opening and out of it ran Phoenix with Remus following behind. The corridor was deserted so the girl had no obstacles in getting to her adoptive father. He opened his arms just in time she crashed and wrapped her arms around his waist. Sirius looked alarmed at Remus who just shrugged and rubbed her back soothingly until she calmed down and stepped away looking flushed.

He knelt down and lifted her chin, trying to get her to look at him. It seemed that after this public display of affection so unlike her Phoenix retracted back to her shell.

"The healers are taking a look at him, Flamie. He'll be fine okay? Why don't you sit down a bit, it's been a tiring day." Sirius said and led her to the chair next to Regulus, who arrived with Tonks a few minutes before. The metamorphmagus went back to the ministry to do "boring paper-work". He then motioned Remus to follow him with a look.

He looked around to see the werewolf rubbing his forehead looking tired.

"I'm doing a terrible job." Sirius didn't mean to say that but that's what came out.

"Not now Sirius." Remus said tiredly. "We both know there isn't a chance that happened because of you." The animagus was about to interrupt when Remus silenced him with a look. "What happened?"

"Dunno." Sirius sighed. "One moment he was there, the other he was being attacked by his walrus of Uncle."

They stood in silence for a minute, immerse in their own thoughts.

"What happened to Phoenix? She was another girl when she arrived and then she was back to the scared red head we rescued. Not that I don't like her for what she is but it was a nice change." Sirius said pacing again.

"No idea." Remus said and in a silent agreement they both went back to the waiting room as a white dressed healer joined them.

"Harry Potter?" She said in a formal voice. Voice of one who's done that a lot. They all got up and looked at her expectantly. "Family?" They nodded. "The boy" Phoenix flinched at the title, recording her relatives who spat the word with as much disgust as possible. "-seemed to have many barely healed wounds, as well as a concussion. The worrying thing were his lungs. Did he breathe normally? Or have any problem like asthma?" Remus and Sirius didn't know how to answer that without explaining the reason they didn't know in the first place.

"He... He was kind of ga-gasping sometimes. Like... like he was-was hurting or something." Phoenix said stammering and blushed when the healer looked at her quizzically.

Sirius stepped in front of her protectively and held the young girl's hand in his.

The healer - Miss Jones it said in her name tag - snapped out of her analytical state and continued. "It seems like his ribs ended up poking and wounding his right lung. We healed it the best we could. He'll have to apply a cream over the place and inhale a medicine that'll make sure his lung heals properly."

"May we see him now?" Remus asked taking in Phoenix's pale face. Sarah nodded and led them to the room 109.

It seemed a long way to cross the Emergency Ward of the St Mungo's, wing of Physical Damaging Wounds. The hospital stench was numbing their nostrils and making them slightly sick. They passed over an open door and saw a green skinned man puking some maroon liquid as pimps appeared all over his body. Sirius squeezed Phoenix hand, which he refused to let go and urged her to go quick. Remus had a hand on her shoulder as well, and applied a little pressure. Regulus just felt alone one more time.

After it seemed like hours to their nerves the healer stopped and pulled down the door knob. There lay Harry.

He was pale, his jet black hair standing out. There were black circles under his eyes and his lips were red. He was shirtless and there was a white gauze around his torso, stained with blood on the right side.

His head was falling to the side of the pillow and his eyes were closed but his pained expression and ragged breathing gave away that he was awake.

In a second Phoenix ran and was on his side. He opened his green eyes and met hers, so much like his. He gave her a crooked smile at her concerned frame as she ran a hand through his forehead and hair.

"Why didn't you tell me Harry James?" she said red faced. Harry then snapped his eyes open and looked at her warily. "You could have died! Do you know the consequences of a punctured lung? Since when were you feeling pain? Huh?" Her high voice was high pitched and she forgot she wasn't alone with her brother, letting her emotions take control.

Sirius and Remus watched stunned at the exchange. They could imagine Lily and James in one of their many fights where the marauder received the end of her temper.

"Since what? The basement day? Or was it before? How could you do that to me Harry? You promised you'd be there for me and you almost died. Like you did all these years in Hogwarts with your friends and left me behind, covering for you! I never said a thing! How do you imagine I felt knowing my brother could be dead at any second?"

Harry then lost his mind, his head was aching and the pain on his right lung was returning. His sister's despair and tears didn't seem to mean nothing to him. Sirius and Remus were still staring, Regulus was looking at them warily and as like the others, as if he'd never seen Phoenix before.

"How do you think I felt when I discovered my twin sister's been raped by my Uncle since she was five?" BAM! Harry seemed to regret what he said immediately. Phoenix went pale and looked down. Remus and Sirius looked alarmed and set into action. Remus tried to get Phoenix in a hug but she shrugged him off, not making a sound. She didn't run, but walked calmly to the door and out of the room, Remus shared a look with his old friend and went after her.

Regulus flinched back at the news, sure he knew they were abused but about Phoenix being sexually abused by her Uncle for almost a decade caught him out of his guard. He left the room as well planning of getting some tea in the waiting room.

Sirius saw the exchange with longing in his heart, he could almost smell the breeze of the Black Lake in the spring, as James and Lily got on each others throats. Azkaban took many memories away from him and that wasn't the way he imagined to get them back.

He heard the door snap closed for the second time and looked at godson. Studying his silent frame. His body was shaking with silent sobs and coughs and Harry was looking down ashamed. Sirius pulled a chair closer to the bad and sat down, with his hand's palm facing up.

"She was just worried Harry. You gave us quite a scare." He said kindly and cursed himself when his godson whimpered. "She knows you didn't mean to say that. She's not mad, she just needs to think a bit alright?" Sirius was starting to get unnerved with the lack of response. "She's right when she said you should have told someone. This is quite serious. No pun intended." Sirius smiled when his godson flashed a look at him. "Trust is gained. We don't want to have to cast a diagnosing charm on you everyday because you don't tell us how you feel. But we will do that if you prove we can't trust you with your well being." Sirius said solemnly. "Alright?" Sirius said and lifted Harry's chin to look at him. Harry nodded blushing and Sirius clicked his tongue. "Nah-ah, a verbal answer please." The ex-convict said impressed with how parental he sounded.

"Yes sir." Harry blushed more and looked down. "Sorry." He added for a good measure.

"No need. But I'm not that old to be called sir. It's Sirius as I told you before. Now lets try it again. How do you feel?"

"F-Fi..." Harry caught himself just in time. "M-my right side hurts?" Harry mumbled and looked at Sirius warily.

"And...?"

"It's difficult to breathe... And talk." Sirius nodded hiding his concern.

"Now that wasn't that hard." Sirius smiled kindly. "Going for help doesn't make you weak or a bother pup. It just means that you have someone else to care for you."

Remus found Phoenix sitting down just outside the room with her head on her hands. She wasn't crying, she just seemed terrified.

"Are you alright, Phoen?" She did not answer. "He didn't mean that. He knows you are just concerned." She ignored and Remus sighed. "We are all worried about you both. Sirius and I didn't want any of this to happen." Noticing she wouldn't hear him now Remus got up and crossed ways with Regulus.

"May I try?" The mature boy said looking between them.

"Go ahead." Remus said tiredly before heading the way to make tea for himself.

Regulus walked down towards her and didn't wait for an invitation to sit. "Tea?" He smiled.

**A/N: Hey bestest readers in the whole fandom! This chapter is up sooner than I thought. That's a good thing. It turned out slightly - okay, way different than I planed - but I thought it would show more about the twins feelings. Hope you liked it, and I'm working on the next chapter. Special requests?**

**Thanks again fro my beta MJ Drake and this chapter is dedicated to my friend Lucie (1945) and all of you**


	13. White

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.**

**Chapter 12 - White**

Later that day Regulus brought a calmer and quiet Phoenix back to the white room. They had tea together and he took her for a walk around the hospital, trying to distract her even if she didn't answer back or seemed interested in anything. He just respected the comfortable silence she liked and needed so much.

Regulus didn't know why he felt so drawn to this slightly problematic girl. He felt comfortable around her - even if they just met properly - like he could be himself and tell his darkest secrets. He felt the need to protect her and make sure she didn't shed a tear. She was different and maybe that's what caught his attention. The way she walked carefully, the way her eyes moved across the room fearful, he felt like he was supposed to stop that, he felt the need to reassure her. To make sure that fear turned into joy, her stammering turned into gasps of laughs.

"Now how about we go back? Hm?" She looked away from him and studied the not-so-interesting clinical clean corridor. "Hey. Talk to me sweetheart." He crouched down on her level and locked eyes with her. "What are you scared about? It's just your family inside there. They all love you. They'd never stop."

She looked at him warily to try to find a proof he was lying.

"Besides my amazingly good looks, charisma and sense of humour. I have a vote that I don't lie." He smirked when she giggled, making dimples appear her extremely white face. Her light freckles standing out. He poked her cheek and smiled back. "Now come on, Potter. Or I will carry you." He didn't wait for her answer but pulled her with him by the hand. Just acting innocent when a stern mediwitch scolded them for "raising havoc in a place of high importance for all the wizarding society", grinning to the girl when the woman turned around.

Soon they were standing in Harry's door and Regulus waited for Phoenix to take a deep breath instead of pressuring her to face it.

He came up with a few theories why Phoenix didn't seem so scared about his presence, not that she wasn't scared, mind you. It was simply the fact that all the mistreatment she suffered - or at least the most relevant part - was inflicted by an adult. Even in she consciously knew Sirius and Remus wouldn't hurt her, her mind wasn't used to this idea so she created a block. Sirius and Remus were bigger, stronger and older than her and while that wasn't a reason for abuse, she could associate to the pain and misinterpret small acts as violence.

Regulus did not remind her much of Dudley being the entire opposite in temper and looks. The Black Heir was content in being quiet, and that was enough for Phoenix. Another reason she didn't act comfortably around teenagers was that they tend to be loud and outgoing - and Regulus is not like them. That's why she didn't have friends, she was scared of them as well. Harry had Ron and Hermione, and even if he tried to include his sister, she couldn't stay long around them. Ron was loud and explosive, and Hermione could be intimidating, and the fact that they're always bickering. That was the reason Harry couldn't stand being near them much, the constant bickering reminded him of Dudley, even if they weren't really fighting. He felt pressured to fit in the wizarding world, pressured to have friends and to save everyone. Sometimes he would just hide under the stands of the Quidditch pitch, to be alone for a while so he could stop being the hero and be just Harry, a child who was a victim after all.

When Regulus opened the door the first thing he saw was that Tonks had arrived and was sitting next to Remus on the sofa, as Sirius occupied a chair beside Harry's bed. They were indulged in a conversation about the Prophet, the younger boy didn't seem interested though, no matter how much they tried to include him in their chit-chat. He was staring at the door intently in a way that it could burn down any moment.

"Phoenix!" He exclaimed when she entered the room and a big smile lit his face as well as everyone's else who saw the happiness in his eyes. Maybe she seemed to think it was funny, because she bit her lip. To stop the smile or in nervousness we'd never know, maybe both.

She walked calmly to her brother and looked into his green eyes, they seemed to exchange thoughts because in a second they were hugging. Carefully - on Phoenix's case not to hurt her brother. They heard a click and Tonks smiled.

"Got it!" She said waving a muggle camera around as the twins blushed.

Phoenix walked hesitantly over to Remus and stopped in front of him. "I-I'm sorry a-about earlier." She looked down ashamedly and he smiled.

"Don't worry Phoen. Just know that I'm here if you need to talk." He said carefully running his hand through her ginger locks. She nodded and decided not to contest what he said. Wondering within why he would want to listen to an ungrateful freak and suppressing a flinch as she anticipated the pain of hairs being pulled out of her head forcefully that never came.

Before Remus could interrogate her about the matter there was a knock on the door and the same mediwitch from before entered the room holding a small metal tray containing a syringe and tube of pinkish liquid. Regulus looked at Phoenix from where he was sitting in the arm rest of the sofa and held back a laugh at her surprised face before she paled considerably and backed away unconsciously towards Remus, almost sitting on his knee as the woman in white entered fully in the room.

"I will inject the potions on your vein as your body is too weak to spell it inside." She said in a "don't you dare to protest" tone that only caused Harry to back away and try to disappear between his pillows even more. "Don't worry sweetheart, it wont hurt. It will just feel like a bug has bitten you." the mediwitch - Sasha was her name - reassured but Phoenix - in a spurt of bravery - got up stood between the woman and her twin brother determined to stop her from hurting her twin. Remus then stood up and put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder, guiding her - not without protest and flinches - back to the two sitting on the couch where he sat his goddaughter between him and Tonks. He put an arm around her as Tonks played with her red locks. Remus rubbed her back and mumbled reassurances that her brother would be fine as they were engaged in a conversation about the next Weird Sisters Album.

The young werewolf looked at the pink haired young woman and couldn't help but smile. Her grey eyes sparkled with excitement when she talked, the way her heart shaped face morphed to make people smile, her pink lips stretched side ways when she smiled. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn't think that way about this best friend's second cousin. She deserved way better, he was too dangerous, too old and too poor for her. There wasn't the possibility. But the way she acted with Phoenix, trying to distract the girl, he could tell she would be a good mother. He would be forever jealous of the lucky guy who won her heart. "Stop it, Remus!" and

Little did he know that while they were indulging Phoenix in a conversation with Regulus the metamorphmagus witch was thinking the same thing. While the youngest girl in the room fought against her despair of being unable to get to her brother.

Harry struggled and trembled as the mediwitch inserted a needle on his left arm. Trying to fight the flashbacks of the time his Aunt took him to a (illegal) doctor on the school's request, and paid the man to hurt him, torture him. The green-eyed boy could remember how the man slapped him, removed his clothes and took pictures. All the while humiliating the boy.

He turned his head to the right side so he wouldn't see how some clandestine liquid was mingling with his blood. He could remember the smell of the product the doctor injected in his arm, how it made him dizzy and powerless. He tried to sit up but felt a hand on his leg and another on his head, pushing him back to rest on the pillows, restraining him. Harry opened his eyes startled and noticed the burning feeling of unshed tears, he tried to get away from the white room, of the white woman and of the silver syringe. His godfather ran a hand through Harry's hair in attempt to stop the boy on working himself into a panic attack, he saw Remus do the same to his sister,

He felt the liquid burn through his veins and fought a tear that was threatening to escape. He flinched and tried to pull his arm away from the reason he was hurting but before he could do that Sirius cupped his face and locked eyes with him.

"Shh it's almost over, Prongslet. Just breathe." He felt the healer remove and then replace the needle and another potion was inserted in his body - one which the healer was quick to fetch. The last thing he saw before falling asleep was Phoenix trying to get away from the werewolf's strong arms.

Phoenix saw her brother close his eyes and panicked. What if he was in a coma? What if he was hurt? Tonks noticed her ragged breathing and was quick to reassure her. "Phoenix, Phoen. Harry is fine. He's just asleep okay? He's just tired." The young woman said her eyes grey and confident, showing her Black genes. The red head would have none of it and looked at the healer that cleared her throat. Still trying to get up.

"He will have to spend the night in the hospital so he can be monitored, if he's well he may leave in the morning. I gave him a strong dose of pain reliever as well as a Calming Draught as he was clearly damaging his lung with his desperate breathing. Meanwhile only one person can stay the night." Phoenix finally was let go and stood up walking towards Harry's bed. "Sorry sweetie. It has to be an adult." Phoenix was about to protest when someone touched her shoulder and she flinched back.

"Flamie, I will stay with Harry alright? I will make sure he will be okay. You go home with Moony and get some rest. Today was eventful for you." Sirius said calmly while he held her shoulders. Then he gathered her in a hug and rubbed her back, at first she was tense but then she clung in his robes and he kissed the top of her head.

"Be good and sleep tight. I love you."

The small girl shook her head not believing what her godfather said. Didn't he see the memories at the Dursley's? Didn't he notice how freaky she was? She new what came after that "be good", she could read the "what else" between the lines that her Uncle used to say and no matter what she did she was never good enough.

Sirius pulled away and held the crying girl in arms length. "I do love you, Phoenix and I would protect you and your brother with my life."

Phoenix shook her godfathers arms off her and walked away from them. Sitting down next to her sleeping brother and clinging to him. Feeling for the first time the separation.

They'd always been together, no more than few doors apart and now that she was forced to live him in a strange place with strange people she couldn't help but feel that she was betraying him, his trust and their beliefs. She knew what happened when her Aunt took him to the doctor and she knew as well that he would never leave her in this situation. He would stay by her side, holding her hand, protecting her. She felt her eyes burn but closed them tight to stop the tears, it wouldn't do well if they saw her crying. They would punish her even worse after that. She kissed Harry's forehead and squeezed his hand tightly, gluing to him as much as she could.

"Phoenie? We have to go now." Remus said with a hand on her shoulders and in a bold moment she shook her head. Gripping Harry's hand tighter. "Come on sweetie, Harry will be fine. Sirius will look after him." She still shook her head.

"Why are you so scared Phoenix? Talk to me. Talk to Siri." Sirius said sitting down in front of her. She tried to back away but realised that behind her was the wall, she couldn't get away. "He'll be fine, baby girl. Tomorrow morning he'll be home with us. It's just a night."

"I-I won't abandon him. You c-can't m-make me!" She said determined. Looking much like Lily in her final moments.

"Oh sweetie" Remus said running his hand through her hair, making her flinch expecting the blow. "I won't hurt you Phoen. You are not abandoning him. He wouldn't think that. You are just leaving so he can get better, you can't stay here sweetheart You're too young to spend a night at the hospital. You have to sleep as well, you are tired. Let us take care of you both right?" He said cupping her face and rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. "Padfoot will stay here with Harry and make sure he's okay, he won't be alone."

After a while Remus managed to pry the troubled girl from her brother, and take her home with the help of Regulus who was the only one she let near her since her godfathers removed her from Harry's side. Arriving at their home she was quick to go to Harry's room and no matter what the other habitants did she wouldn't move from her refuge. Refusing everyone's attempts to make her eat or change, she fell asleep after Remus managed to feed her some soup and welcomed the wonders of a dreamless sleep potion with her white unicorn tucked in next to her.

Sirius opened his eyes to the sound of a blood curdling scream coming from his godson's lungs. The boy was whimpering, mumbling pleads as tears fell from his face and his nails wounded his skin. His body shook and Sirius stood transfixed for a moment before another scream made him move to pin the boy's arms down to the bed as he whispered soothing words and tried to wake the boy up unsuccessfully.

He then sat down on the bed and pulled the boy into his arms, not noticing that he was wet. He rocked the boy and called him calmly, his voice don't betraying the panic he felt until the boy abruptly opened his scared green eyes and jerked his body in an upright position, tears falling like a storm on his face.

"Shh calm down Harry. You're safe with me. Your Aunt and Uncle aren't here and you'll never see them again." The boy continued to cry as his godfather rubbed his back. When it seemed to Sirius that Harry was calming down the boy looked down and started to sob again, trying to get away from Sirius. The acrid smell of urine reached the Animagus' nostrils and Sirius sighed internally, now understanding why his godson was degrading himself.

"Shh Harry. It's okay, I'm not mad. You are okay now Prongslet, I wont hurt you for that. There's no need to get worked up, accidents happen pup." Sirius said trying to reassure himself that it was completely normal for an abused boy to have accidents after a nightmare. It was after all but seeing that from first hand experience and with his godson made everything harder. The godfather pulled the boy again to his chest and felt his shirt get soaked of tears, he comforted his boy as much as he could and as he heard the sobs turn into sniffles he got his wand from the bedside table. "I will get you cleaned up alright Emerald?" He felt Harry nod against his chest and saw the boy's neck redden in the dimly lit room. He removed the distressed and embarrassed boy from his lap and sat him on the bed as he waved his wand over himself who consequently was wet, the bed and the boy. As Harry felt the swoosh of magic pass through him a few tears fell, and Sirius was quick to wipe them as he sat on the chair and looked up at the boy sitting on the high bed.

"There, Harry. There's no need to feel embarrassed. I won't judge you or think differently of you." He held the boys hands and rubbed the palms with his thumbs.

"H-How? I'm sick! A disgusting dirty freak!" Harry let out quietly.

"Because I love you, Harry! Listen to me carefully pup. You've been through a lot in these 13 years. More than I could ever imagine. You are a special boy, not because you are the-boy-who-lived or any other rubbish they call you, but you were special way before that. You are Harry James, the little boy I loved since the first time I set my eyes on you, son of my best friend and my godson, my child in heart. You've been deprived of the basics needs for so long. I'm here to change it Harry. You wont have to suffer alone. Having an accident doesn't make you disgusting; Crying doesn't make you weak; Being special doesn't make you a freak." Sirius hugged the boy and laid again on the bed, this time leaning against the headboard and with the boy lying on his chest as he was held tightly. After a while Sirius heard the boy's breath calm down again and asked a question that was bothering him. "Does that happen a lot pup?" Harry shook his head on Sirius' chest.

"O-Only sometimes. I swear!"

"Shh. I believe you pup. And my love wouldn't change if it did alright? It's completely normal for someone who's seen the horrors that you did. You'd still be my pup, nothing can change that." After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence Sirius asked again stroking the boys hair. "Is it a particular nightmare? Or when something happens that makes you scared? What is it puppy?" Harry shook his head in Sirius chest and started to get worked up again. "Shh puppy. That's okay. You can talk to me, Harry. It will make you feel better. Please."

The pleading was the key and suddenly Harry found himself unable to hold back his words as he recorded his nightmare. A nightmare of what made him afraid was the whiteness of the room, the whiteness of the clothes, the furniture. He told Sirius of the man who made him feel dirty, exposed and violated even without actually raping him. Of how the man looked at him and took pictures of the black haired boy, pale as snow in the snow-white room.

To be continued...

**A/N:** Well this chapter took an unexpected turn, but well. It is not my best chapter and it proved really hard to write, I only was able to after researching more and watching films on child abuse. I like to know exactly what I'm writing about so I can improve it and while bedwetting won't be a problem to Harry it still happens more than we know of. No flames, please.

On the brighter side I want to say that I'm doing great, winning battles against my mind everyday and thank you all for the support. Aaaaaaand on the 1st was my 16th birthday! YAY!

**DO I HAVE ANY BRITISH READERS? **

Why do I ask? Well in exact two months I will be going to Chichester, West Sussex to study abroad for a year. I would love to chat with you and maybe make new friends or get some advice. That is also the reason of taking so long to update, I have to sort everything out.

So just PM me if you want to talk or e-mail me on :)


	14. Postponed Talks

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or anything you recognize.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 13 – Postponed talks**

Phoenix stopped in the middle of a sentence of the book she was reading when she heard a knock on the door. Remus cracked the door open and sneaked his head inside.

"Can we come in sweetheart?" He asked and entered the room when she nodded, followed closely by Sirius who snapped the door shut behind him.

Phoenix had to count her breaths to calm herself down, willing herself to believe that just because her godfather closed the door behind them and she was alone with two men in her bedroom it didn't mean they would hurt her, that those two men had saved her from the abuse she suffered and that they've promised countless times that they wouldn't hurt her.

"Phoenie? Phoenix? Come back to us baby girl." She blinked her thoughts away to see Sirius kneeling down in front of her, looking at her concerned and Remus sitting on the foot of her bed looking the same. She didn't recall scooting up to the corner and drawing her knees to her chest. "We are worried about you darling" Her godfather said his stormy eyes searching for hers. She looked down and bit her nails. He cupped her chin and with the other hand grabbed hers in his bigger one. "Hey, look at me."

_"Look at me while I'm talking, freak!" Vernon slapped her face._

"S-s-sorry sir. I-it won't happen again." She cried out, her eyes glazed over locked in a flashback that seemed too real.

Sirius was beyond worried. It's been two days now and they had yet to hear Phoenix's voice. What Snape said kept echoing in his mind. Her vocal chords could paralyze. She could stay mute, forever. He voiced his thoughts to Remus, who decided that now was a good time to have a talk with her.

Remus knocked on the red head's bedroom door and as he knew he would receive no answer peeked his head inside the room.

"Can we come in sweetheart?" Sirius supposed she nodded, for Remus entered the room and Sirius followed closing the door behind him. The moment the door clicked shut Phoenix changed. Her eyes got wide and she subconsciously looked for an escape route whilst backing away and drawing her knees to her chest. Her hands trembled and in two long strides Sirius was kneeling beside her on the floor.

"Phoenie? Phoenix? Come back to us baby girl." He stroked her arms and called softly. She blinked her beautiful emerald eyes owlishly at him. "We are worried about you darling." Sirius said softly. She looked down and brought her hand to her mouth, biting her finger tips until they bled. A nervous habit of Lily's she's inherited. Sirius cupped her chin and searched for her eyes. "Hey, look at me."

The three words seemed to do the trick. Her eyes glazed over as she went rigid under his grip. Her trembling got worse as she began to hyperventilate.

"S-s-sorry sir. I-it won't happen again." She shouted. Remus has had enough. He came over to the bed and gathered her in his arms in a strong hug, one that limited her trashing and that was efficient in bringing her back to the reality.

"Sorry." She looked down after she was calmed and Remus released her. She immediately backed away and took her hand to her mouth.

"You are not in trouble sweetheart." He said taking her hands in his. "We need to talk to you." The werewolf said as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You see, after we brought you from the Dursley's-" she flinched at the name. "-and Poppy and Sni-er... Professor Snape healed you they expressed their concerns over some small detail. Not small, because something like that isn't small but-" Sirius got lost in his words and Remus picked up for him.

"They were concerned about your vocal cords. From lack of use, yours are weakened and this is dangerous sweetheart." Remus said searching for her eyes as she looked up, looking scared. "They gave us a strengthener potion but it won't work without er... exercising for a lack of better word."

"It could lead to paralysis. You could loose your voice." Sirius said softly and she looked at him horrified.

"We understand that at the Dursley's you were punished for talking but here is different, Phoenie. We will never hurt you or punish you in any way for speaking your mind. You don't have to be afraid of speaking here. We are here to listen to you, whatever you have to say." Remus said cupping her chin.

"You have a beautiful voice, baby girl. It reminds me of Lily's but with a tone that's your own. We would hate to never be able to hear it again. I know this is hard but you are stronger than this and this is a victory we'll conquer together alright? Step by step." Sirius said, eyes moist.

"Okay." She said softly.

"Good." Remus said with a smile as he got up from the bed. "Now it's bed time." He said as he looked at his watch.

"I'm scared of falling asleep." She said quietly as if expecting to be hit. Sirius and Remus shared a look and Sirius got up from his place on the floor.

"Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?" The animagus asked kindly understanding too well her fear.

"Y-you don't have to." She said blushing.

"Sirius doesn't mind. Now lay down." She did as asked and Remus tucked her in as Sirius sat beside her and began to stroke her hair.

Remus then said goodnight and closed the door behind him.

"Do you want me to keep the castle lit?" Sirius asked as he dimmed the lights.

"Y-yes please." She said unconsciously scooting closer to her godfather. He did as told and continued stroking her forehead as if in slow motion.

"You know, when you were a baby and was ill or couldn't sleep, James used to do this and you would calm down instantly." He said quietly more to himself than anything.

"It makes me sleepy." She said her voice heavy.

"Mmhm. I know it does darling. Don't be afraid, I'll keep the nightmares away." He said and kept rubbing her forehead.

"Okay. Thanks Paddy" She said and fell asleep soon after that.

Sirius took a deep breath at the old nickname he was called, knowing it was her subconscious bringing it back. A million thoughts ran through his mind, thousands of those being memories of the twins when they were babies.

"No problem, baby girl." He said and got up, moving quietly towards the door. He took one last look at his goddaughter's sleeping form before closing the door and walking to his room. Hoping for a night as peaceful as hers would be.

In two days after they talked to Phoenix – three after the trial – and well within the night when Sirius, Remus and Tonks apparated to the Ministry of Magic. The building was eerily quiet – it didn't take an expert to know that they shouldn't be here. Yes, it was a reckless risk they were taking, having three teenagers at home, but it was necessary. In that dark night, the wind howled and trees shifted to its music. In that dark night, they would get their revenge.

Nymphadora Tonks was no stranger to that building and began leading the way to the ministry holding cells, producing a key from the pocket of her leather jacket. "Be quick and please, make them suffer." She said before leaving the two men alone to search their way through the cells.

Sirius and Remus walked without making a sound through the dark corridor until they were in the cell number MOM001 seeing two shapes huddled in the corner.

They opened the door with a banishing spell and saw the two figures jump and turn their beady eyes at them.

The smallest one was a woman with long neck and horse like face, that could barely be seen under the torch-like lamps. The other one was a huge man who made up for his wife's long neck, having none apparent at all. He had a thick mustache and a prominent belly and even though he was visibly shaken by fear he managed to produce a malicious smile. That bastard.

"The time has come, I told you it would, _Dursley_." Sirius spat the name and a wave of his wand the door was fixed and closed behind him.

"Do NOT use this magical nonsense near me or my woman, freak!" The walrus of a man replied with a courage he didn't know he had.

Remus was quick. Before Sirius could move, in two strides he was in front of the man – Vernon – and with a punch from the werewolf the man was on the floor.

"Do NOT dare to speak out of turn, you bastard. We are here to talk and you-"He punctured each word with a kick. "will. listen."

"How does it feel to be in that position?" Sirius roared as he charged towards the fallen man aiming a kick in his groin. "How does it feel to be hurt by someone more powerful than you?"

"They deserved it. Those little freaks." Vernon managed to say through the pain.

"Deserved it? DESERVED IT?" Remus shouted, taking advantage of the inhuman strength the near to come full moon gave him. "They are kids you bastard! They deserve to be loved and cherished. How would you feel if we did the same to your own huh?"

"Duddy! No please, not my Duddy!" Petunia yelled in desperation.

Sirius and Remus would never hurt a kid, but the Dursleys didn't need to know that.

"How does it feel to watch a loved one suffer, _Tuney_?" Sirius said with so much venom that she flinched, or maybe it was for the fact that he had his wand trained on her.

"We didn't ask for those freaks! If my good for nothing sister and her freak husband didn't get blown up we would never have had this problem. But no, they are too good to raise their kids and throw them on the shoulders of their normal relatives who want nothing to do with them." The horse-like woman ranted.

"You bitch! They were _murdered_. You sister died protecting their children and yet you decide to mock her sacrifice by being a danger to your own blood. Do you have any idea what you've done to those kids? How they felt all this time being rejected and hurt under the roof of what's supposed to be their home? If it was the other way around Lily and James would have treated your son like their own and raised him to be a good man, something you never did. No matter. You can't take back what you did, and we know you never would. But we can make you suffer. _Crucio." _Sirius said quietly and watched in satisfaction as the woman convulsed on the floor.

After a while he let her go and turned to the husband who was now shaking in fear, trying to find an escape route instead of saving his woman.

"I'm tired of talking, Moony. What about some action?" Sirius looked at his best mate as if asking for permission.

"Let's make them suffer." The werewolf said, his eyes were two orbs of amber and his pupils just a slit.

Sirius then transformed and began to tear the clothes on the man's legs, biting every surface he found tasting blood. Remus meanwhile threw a nasty string of hexes and curses as dark as his best mate's name, making sure he focused on both of them.

Padfoot's mind was a blur, his instinct repeating a mantra over and over again _"hurt, not kill"_. He saw only red as the man screamed and twisted on the floor. Padfoot liked the taste of fresh meat.

The werewolf focused his attention on the woman now, he researched a lot of books of mind-magic to find this one. He cast the spell and watched as her bawling eyes glowed and then faded and as a scream left her mouth. Every living thing she saw from now on would be a twisted cadaver. When he looked back at his brother, he saw him calling the old family magic. This was the grand finale.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the House of Black call to me the power that is mine by blood and command it to make Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley suffer their due consequences for all the crimes they committed. The justice will be made over the power of my blood so that every pain they suffer for hurting Phoenix Lily Potter and Harry James Potter will turn into protection for the mentioned children. I bid you to make them suffer, what they called for through all these years. So have I asked, so mote it be." There was a glow in the room and the couple was paralyzed, locked in their own nightmares.

Remus then removed the wards he put, so that their magic would not be trace-able and cast an old spell that would mask the spells cast on the couple.

"Shall we go home Sirius?" Remus looked at his friend who was breathing heavily.

"Let's go home, Remus." Sirius nodded back and off they went, not even bothering to close the door behind them. The Dursleys would be escorted to a muggle prison that morning and would not be going anywhere on their own, for a long time.

**A/N: This chapter wasn't planned at all but I really like how it turned out. Also, the excess of "Okays" is John Green's fault. He's just amazing.**

**Anyway, sorry for the long wait. You know my reasons. I'm just getting better from a major relapse. Last week was terrible and I cut myself after more than two months clean. Too much info? Well… Since here is my escape I thought you should know.**

**I hope you liked it and thanks for reading.**

**Lots of love,**

**Maria **


	15. New Experiences

**Disclaimer: The HP universe is not mine.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 14 – New experiences**

It was the Sunday before the twins' birthday (which would fall on a Wednesday), precisely at breakfast, when Sirius broke up the news he and Remus have been planning for a while.

"So… What do you guys think about going on holidays?" The Lord Black asked watching the teenagers in his care's reactions closely.

"Hmm I guess I'd rather stay locked up at home, Uncle Sirius. No offense but I just love how the ceiling is so white and need to spend more time admiring it." Regulus said with evident sarcasm in his voice, winking at Phoenix and Harry, who giggled.

"Harry, Phoenie?" Remus asked turning to look at them.

"Wait, you mean we are going too?" Harry asked unable to mask his excitement.

"Of course you are going, dearest godson of mine. How could we celebrate a birthday without the birthday twins there?" Sirius smiled, effectively masking his pained expression.

"At the Dursley's they'd always leave us behind." Phoenix said quietly and without thinking. Then she blushed and ducked her head while she bit her fingernails.

"Well, in this family you will never get left behind. Ever." Sirius said with a smile and Harry and Phoenix squeezed hands under the table.

"Where are we going? C'mon Harry, ask Remus. Maybe if you ask he'll tell." Regulus said nudging Harry who looked expectantly at Remus.

"You'll learn soon enough." Remus smiled as he ruffled Harry's hair. Now, have you all gotten everything?" He clapped his hands in front of him in excitement and looked around the room. He had to suppress a smile at the happiness contained in the twins' eyes.

Phoenix was right beside him standing still but comfortable. She saw him looking at her and smiled showing her perfect white teeth. Her smile reached her eyes and since she came to live with her godfathers it happened more and more often.

Next to her was Harry, sitting on the arm of the sofa his knee up and down and his eyes constantly averting to the stairs – the only signs of his impatience and excitement. The life the twins' had before they came to the Marauders' household taught them well how to mask emotions but with each day their personalities were slipping more and more often through their masks.

Regulus was thrown on the armchair, his feet dangling from the armrest. The whole Black family would have a seizure if they saw him in such an undignified manner. Well, except for Sirius.

'_Speaking of the devil, where is he?'_ Remus thought. "Siiiiiiiirius! We are leaving without you!" The werewolf called.

"Wait up!" Crash. "I'm coming!" The animagus shouted back.

"You said that over twenty minutes ago!" Remus said.

"Jesus, Moony! Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm here now. Come on, let's go." Sirius said coming down the stairs two steps at a time. "Have you travelled by portkey before?" He asked the twins who shook their heads and looked down.

"I'm sorry, sir." Harry said quietly.

"Nonsense, pup. Professor Moony, do the honours."

"Portkey is a way of travelling in which you charm an object to serve as a portal and the moment you touch it you are transported to the chosen location." Remus said with his professor voice.

"So all we have to do is touch it?" Harry asked eying the hairbrush warily.

"When we all have our hands on the object." Sirius showed the hairbrush. "I will say the password and then we will be transported to our secret hideaway." Everyone nodded. "Good. Now every one grab the hairbrush." They did. _"Mischief"_

What happened next was one of the strangest experiences the twins' had since entering the magical world. It felt a lot like a roller coaster, only it was a circle. Everything was a blur as they spun round and round. Suddenly it all stopped and the twins went face first to the grass below them. They turned to their sides and sat down looking up while Sirius, Remus and Regulus did everything they could not to laugh.

"Don't worry. It takes time to learn how not to fall after a portkey trip." Regulus said holding out his hand for Harry to take winning a quiet 'thank you' as Sirius hoisted Phoenix up to her feet.

"Are you hurt?" Sirius said looking at the twins eyes. They both shook their head.

Remus cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "This is the Potter's summer manor." Towering over them was a huge house and beyond it the blue ocean.

The house was blue, with two floors and a huge backyard (where they were standing). The windows were open and the sun was shinning. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

"It's been in the Potter Family for generations. We came here with your grandparents and James many times over the summer holidays when we were in school." Sirius said with a nostalgic smile. "It's yours now. Go ahead." He smiled and stood back staring at the twins' backs as they cautiously moved toward the big house. It was then that he noticed that Regulus was beside him looking down, he'd never seen his nephew so unsure of himself.

"Go on, pup. You are as welcome as any of us." The animagus said giving his nephew's shoulder a squeeze. Regulus nodded and followed Remus and the twins with his Uncle closely behind him.

"These two are the master bedrooms." Remus said pointing at the two doors at the end of the corridor. "That is the bathroom." He pointed to the door on the extreme right. "And these two over here are the guest bedrooms, but they are as good as any other."

"In fact" Sirius said with a small smile. "This is the bedroom we used to stay in when we came with Prongs." He pointed to the room on the left and the twins stared at each other pondering if opening the door was worth the punishment they would probably receive for intruding. "You can open the door, it wont bite you." Sirius smiled sadly.

Harry took a step forward and opened the door. The room was decorated all in different shades of blue. There were quidditch posters covering the midnight blue walls and two beds in the centre. Over the nightstand was a photo of the marauders on their third year. Sirius and James play-fighting each other, Remus removing his sandy-blond hair from the front of his eyes and Peter waving at the camera. They seemed genuinely happy to be in each other's company. No one would guess the disaster that assaulted that group of friends.

"You look so much like dad, Har." Phoenix said with a small voice, teary-eyed. Harry just nodded unable to form words. The only pictures they had of their parents were burned that summer by their sorry excuse of an uncle.

Regulus then cleared his throat. "You look a lot like him as well, Phoenix." He then closed his mouth abruptly but when Phoenix looked at him urging him to go on - to express some unknown connection she had with her deceased father he continued. "I-I mean, your nose is just like his." Regulus walked to take a closer look at the picture. "And the cheekbones are the same. Also," he said surer of himself. "Even though your eyes are green they are the same shape as your dad's."

Remus then examined Phoenix's face and took a look at the James in the picture. "Precisely, Regulus. Where did you learn to be so observant?"

It was Sirius that answered. "Being a pureblood means that no detail can get left behind." The animagus then ruffled his nephew's hair. "Now, who wants to go to the beach?"

Phoenix and Harry immediately looked at him as if Christmas had come early but they were scared of Santa.

Half an hour later they walked the few meters in the sand to reach the water. The sand was warm under their feet and the waves were flowing peacefully. The beach was a desert in and transparent clean in this part of France.

Remus sat down on the sand and opened his book, Sirius laid down on a towel to get some colour on his unhealthily pale skin and Regulus got a racket and a ball that he found on the guest bedroom he was staying in and started to practice.

The twins stood there, Harry trying to get Phoenix to enter the water with him.

Once, when he was younger he used to be a great swimmer, with his light body and fast reflexes he won medals for his school. But then Uncle Vernon's abuse started to get worse and the bruises more visible. His uncle was angry that Harry was overshadowing his Duddy and prohibited him from competing. It didn't stop Harry's love for water. Only made Harry associate swimming with something much, much worse.

On a regular weekday Vernon took the twins to the communitarian pool of his friend - making sure it was empty and made Harry watch as he held Phoenix's body under the water for what seemed like centuries. Harry watched his sisters limbs splash and then become limp.

Since then Phoenix hadn't entered a pool. Since then Harry stopped winning competitions. That day Vernon took away one more thing from the twins.

"Stop it, Harry! You know I can't!" Phoenix shouted and ran back to the beginning of the sand, leaving Harry alone for a few seconds before he moved toward her and wrapped her in a hug as she cried.

Sirius and Remus made to get up but Remus stopped. "You go, Sirius."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Sirius then moved cautiously toward the twins and knelt down in the sand in front of them.

"Sweetie are you alright?" He asked worried. When he noticed that she was in no state to answer he turned to Harry who was rubbing his sister's back. "What happened, pup? You can tell me. I wont be mad, I only want to help."

Harry then looked at his distraught sister and shook his head.

"It's only me, Harry. It's only Sirius. Nothing you can tell me can make me stop loving you. I promise." Sirius rubbed the back of Phoenix's head that was resting on the crook of Harry's neck.

Harry then closed his eyes and retold the tale. All the while rubbing his sister's back. Sirius kept his emotions hidden and at the end, even though his heart was contorted with rage, he kept his face impassive.

"Sweetie?" He motioned for Harry to stop hiding his sister. "It's okay. What he did was wrong and I would never, ever do the same. I'd drown myself before I did the same to you. You know that, right?" The sad thing was that she didn't. "Come with me." He got up and extended his hand to his goddaughter who uncertainly took it. He pulled her into a hug and let her sob in his chest for a while.

"I'm-I'm so stupid." She said between sobs. "It happened years ago, and - and yet I still feel like I can't breathe. I'm just a stupid, coward freak"

"Now, you listen to me and listen closely." Sirius said seriously kneeling down and grabbing Phoenix by the shoulders. "I don't want to hear you call yourself names ever again. You have a reason to be scared and being brave is not about having fears. Is about facing them. Come on." He got up and started to walk towards the water.

"I can't, Sirius. Please don't make me." She cried openly and Harry was about to intervene.

"Shhh I won't make you, Flamie. But do you trust me?"

She didn't have an answer.

"Please trust me on this. I would drown before I let anything happen to you" He grabbed her hand and walked her toward the edge of the water. "Please just look at me, Phoenix. Nothing else."

She did.

"Do you trust me?" The water reached her knees.

She didn't. But was beginning to and that's all he could ask for.

_**To be continued…**_

**A/N: Hello, strangers. I'm sorry for the delay. I'm having a very hard time with my treatment (still) and uni away all of my free time. As well as the major writer's block that kept me from writing. I'll try to post more often and I really hope you like this chapter. I had it planned for a while but couldn't put into words.**

**For those who are wondering, I'm getting better. Just like Phoen and Harry, I'm taking things one step at a time.**

**Thank you so much for not giving up on me.**

**Lots of love, **

**Maria**


	16. Regulus' Tale

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the HP universe.**

**The Fire of The Phoenix**

**Chapter 15 - Regulus' Tale**

That night Phoenix woke up sweating and shaking, suppressing a gasp as she recalled that particular day when she was eight.

She recalled vividly the panic she felt while her head was forced under the water and the beating she received after arriving the Dursley's home.

Wiping away the tears with trembling hands she decided to go downstairs, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon. Quietly getting up from her bed she checked on her brother who was miraculously sound asleep and made her way to the door. Walking down the stairs with light steps, she was surprised to find someone sitting on the windowsill of the drawing room. She was about to turn back the way she came when the floorboard creaked.

"Merlin! I didn't see you there." Regulus – the moonlit silhouette, startled out of his thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be here. I c-can leave." The fire haired girl said turning around.

"Nonsense. Come in. You can sit here if you want." He said patting the space next to him. When she didn't move he smiled sadly in the dark. "I wont bite, you know."

She unsurely made her way towards the huge window and sat as far away from Regulus as she could, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"How do you like it here?" Reggie asked starting a conversation.

"Oh! I hum I think it's nice." Phoenix said quietly and when he motioned for her to continue she said "the o-ocean is beautiful. I-I'd never seen the ocean b-before." She blushed, glad that there was only the moonlight illuminating the room.

Regulus nodded. "What amazes me is the sky. You can clearly see every constellation. See, there is Andromeda and that" he pointed to another area, his outline visible by the moonlight. "Is Orion. Sirius is that star." He pointed to the brightest star.

"I-I'm terrible in astronomy." Phoenix confessed.

"I can help you, if you want. It's not hard." Regulus said honestly.

"Thanks." Phoenix said quietly.

Silence.

"You know, Uncle Sirius loves you very much." Regulus said moving closer to her. She looked at him disbelievingly.

"H-he can't love me. H-he's just waiting for us to mess it up." Phoenix said quietly biting her fingernails.

"You know it's not true, Phoen." The black haired boy said taking her hand in his. "I mean what I said, anyone can see that he loves you like you are his own."

"He loves _you_." Phoenix said trying to hold back her jealously.

How she wished someone would love her unconditionally. Someone to take care of her and dry her tears, someone she could rely on blindly. So that she could stop looking behind her back and move forward to something brighter. Someone to help her along the way.

"Not as much as he loves you and Harry." Regulus said dryly and gave a dry laugh. "And I'm his nephew, anyway. He is bound to." The instant Regulus said that he regretted it. Now it was Phoenix's turn to give a bitter laugh.

"He's not, you know. I lived with my Uncle and Aunt for 12 years, and they didn't feel even a little bit of care for my brother or me. Maybe it's because we were always freaks and unwanted, but how I wish my relatives had treated me like Sirius does to you or that he kept treating me like he treats me now. But it's all my fault. At one moment I will mess it up and then Sirius and Remus will be mad and then- "

"Hey, hey. There now. Shhh." Phoenix only noticed she was shaking with sobs when Regulus gathered her in his arms. "Listen to me, I know you can't see it and I can't even imagine what you've been through but I wouldn't lie to you about this. Nor would Remus or Sirius. You are wanted and you are loved. I know life has been hard on you and you never had anyone whom you could trust but please believe me when I say I want to help and I want to be there for you. Alright?" The boy said emphatically, giving Phoenix one last squeeze as she nodded. "Good. And you won't mess it up. Have a little faith on yourself, Phoen. You deserve something good. Now come on. I'll make some hot cocoa for both of us."

She dutifully and shakily followed him towards the kitchen and offered to make the drink herself, but Regulus was adamant he could do it.

"Here. It wards off bad thoughts." He said giving Phoenix a steaming mug receiving a quiet thanks.

After a while, Phoenix gathered her Gryffindor bravery to ask what's been bothering her. "R-Regulus? C-Can I ask you something?"

"You already did." He said seriously but then winked to show her he was joking. Even then, she apologized. "Nonsense. Ask away."

"W-Why were you awake tonight?" She asked hesitantly.

"Oh! That hum. I guess every one of us can be a victim of depressing thoughts now and then." He said scratching his neck. Phoenix nodded and looked at him expectantly but then caught herself and blushed.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry. I-It's none of my business. I-I shouldn't have asked you." Phoenix retreated back to her shell.

"No, it's okay." He pondered for a bit then decided it was worth it. "I guess it's just that when I see Uncle Sirius with you I keep thinking how my life would be like if I had my father. If my uncle and him would have been close, if I'd have met my uncle at all." He took a deep breath. "You see, when I was born my father was already dead. He was 19 when he died and my mother was a year older." His grey eyes were far away. "Both of them were in the Dark Lord's inner circle. My mother, Cassandra was her name, was Voldemort's protégé, completely immersed in the Dark Arts, but after father died, she got even worse. She was the main person responsible for the Prewett twins torture and death and along with the torture of the Longbottoms." Phoenix had no idea who were the Prewett twins and could only assume the Longbottoms were Neville's parents, since he lived with his Grandmother. "My maternal grandfather – who was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time - was torn between believing the accusations on his little girl or not but after the Longbottoms torture it was final. He sent Aurors – that's the Wizarding Police - everywhere to look for her but she just disappeared." He then laughed bitterly. "The day before she had left me with the Malfoys – who were my dad's closest relatives and whom she knew wouldn't be sent to Azkaban. She didn't want her son to grow up in an orphanage full of mud-bloods and knew Uncle Lucius would teach me the "right ways". But anyway, she abandoned me to save her sorry arse. And sometimes I get thinking if it's worse knowing your mum left you or knowing that she is locked away probably going insane – or even more insane. At least you know – or would know if it weren't for your sorry excuse of relatives – that if your parents were alive they would want you and even love you. But me?" He laughed bitterly. "My mother didn't want me. I was just a way she found to keep my father close, that's why she disposed of me as soon as she could. My dad died before I was born. Until Uncle Sirius was freed, I had no real connection to any member of my family. I was alone. I _am _alone."

Regulus didn't know why he told her all of that. He'd never told anyone how he felt but with Phoenix, it was different. He just felt drawn to her. Maybe it was because of her past, but he knew she wouldn't judge or make a scene of what he told her. Regulus felt like he could trust her blindly, just like he wanted her to trust him. He came back of his own world of self-pity when someone cleared his throat.

"P-Phoenix, darling. Could you leave us for a bit? I'll come right up to talk to you." Sirius said, his voice strangely high-pitched while Regulus let out a huge line of curses no one even imagined the perfect little prince knew.

Phoenix got up, put her mug in the sink and stopped in front of Regulus. She seemed unsure for a moment but gave him a quick kiss in the cheek, squeezed his empty hand and ran out of the room. Regulus was too worried to wonder about the meaning of the action. But later he would notice that just as he did, she was determined to take a leap of faith and trust him. It was her way to reassure him that everything would be fine, just like he did to her.

Regulus took a deep breath before he looked around to see his Uncle studying him. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough. Why don't we go to the drawing room?" Regulus couldn't decipher what was different on his Uncle's voice but did as he was asked. When they were both sitting on the couch Sirius started talking. "I didn't know your mother. Not like Narcissa did. I can't tell you about her other than that she was an outright bitch - sorry. But I knew Regulus, and while in the end he made the wrong choices I spent a big part of my life with him. I don't know much on how he died except it was on Voldemort's business but he left a will. In the will he stated that he wanted his son, his heir to be left with me if something happened to him. In the beginning I wondered why, since we weren't talking since my 6th year. But I know the reason now, he would want you to have the chance he didn't had in choosing the right path. He knew that I would welcome you and would love you like my own. He knew I would make sure you had a chance of choosing the right ways and not the one he chose. It shows that even though he didn't plan you, he didn't want his only child to be led astray. It shows you that he cared even before you were born." Sirius then took a deep breath. "You are a second chance for me as well. For me to do what I didn't with my younger brother. To set a good example and teach you right from wrong even though you are already a young man. What I'm trying to say is that you are not alone. As long as I live, you'll always have a family, a home, someone. You look so much like your dad that I think I just assumed you would be like him. Always sure of where he belonged and on who he was. I just assumed that you wouldn't want my guidance and would block me if I tried, like he did many times. But now I see you, Reggie. I see _you_, more than anything. And I'll do everything I can so that you never doubt you have a place in this world." Sirius then took his nephew's chin and lifted it, wiping the stray tears with his thumb. "Never _ever _think of you are someone not wanted, or lost. Because you'll always have me. Got it?" Regulus nodded and bit his lip hard not to cry.

'_Purebloods don't cry, crying is undignified, it's weakness. Your feelings were made to be hidden. Don't you dare to cry.' _Regulus chanted in his head over and over again.

"Hey, it's okay, Reg. There's just the two of us here. You can let it out. Crying is not a weakness, it only shows you've been strong for far too long." Sirius said looking into his nephew's eyes and soul. Regulus let out a strangled sob and broke down. He pulled up his knees to his chest and hid his head as his body shook with quiet sobs and his Uncle rubbed his back. "Reggie, talk to me, mate." But his nephew only shook his head. Anyway, Sirius heard enough to know what was going through Regulus' mind. Sirius never spared a thought to think on how his nephew was adjusting, always assuming he was okay and believing the mask Regulus put on. "I can't replace your dad, Regulus. Nor do I want to. But I will make sure you feel like you are not alone, anymore. I'm always here if you want to talk." His nephew nodded.

'_Get a grip. Get a grip, Regulus.'_ And after about a minute he did. His mask was back on, but it felt lighter to hold it there.

"Sorry, Uncle. I am composed, now."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "I don't want you to be _composed_, I want you to feel better. Do you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, Reggie. Drop the formalities." Sirius knelt down in front of his nephew. "I don't look like Lucy, the blond do I?" Sirius winked.

Regulus laughed, a soft laugh that while it reminded Sirius of his brother's it was different. Sirius could clearly see that while his brothers had been lower – as if contained – his nephew's was huskier. "No. Though you would look stunning if you bleached your hair, Uncle Sirius."

"I'm sure I would. The good looks of the Blacks stayed in our side of the family. It's impossible for us not to look good." Sirius laughed along with his nephew. "Come on. Let's go to bed. It's almost 4 am, already. And I still have to check on a certain red haired girl." They both walked towards the stairs, Sirius with his arm around Regulus. "What was that kiss, by the way?" Sirius raised his eyebrows and Regulus blushed.

"I-I er don't know." Regulus looked down.

"Whatever you did, thank you. And in the future, remember to name one of your children Sirius Orion Black the second. It's an awfully nice name."

**To be continued…**

**A/N: Two chapters on such a short time? Well, I felt like writing. Hope you like it, since I've been really looking forward to this chapter. Next chapter is the Twins' Birthday chapter. Anything you want to see?**

**Lots of love, **

**Maria**


	17. A Special Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the HP universe.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 16 – A special birthday**

The morning of the 31st of July was a typical one in southern France. The sun was shinning and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. No muggle could guess that it was such a special day in a world hidden within their own.

Harry was - thanks to a Dreamless Sleep potion and a tiring day - sleeping peacefully, as was his sister. The excitement of their trip to France was so that they forgot their annual tradition to wait up for midnight and exchange birthday presents then. In fact, they were oblivious to the fact that it was already their birthday, not that the day was special in any way in their minds, mind you, but they could always count on each other to make the day at least a little brighter while they were at the Dursley's household.

Harry rolled over and unconsciously shrank in his bed as he opened his eyes to bad muffled whispers beyond the door.

"No - don't. Wait for me to open the door first, Padfoot! Merlin, you are impossible!" Remus said.

Harry opened his eyes startled and looked at his sister's bright green ones - so much like his.

"What-?" He mouthed to her but at that moment the door was opened and he only had time to close his eyes before a huge black dog jumped on his bed and proceeded to lick his face.

He tensed up at first but then laughed along as Padfoot tugged his covers and made sure he was awake before doing the same to Phoenix. After they both were sitting up the Animagus form of their godfather barked and looked at the door before exiting the room.

Harry looked at his sister with a huge smile on his face as he remembered the date. He crossed the room in two strides and gathered her in a huge hug – so huge that they fell into the bed beside them.

"Happy Birthday, Phoenie." He said to his still oblivious sister with a genuine smile on his face.

She smiled a surprised smile and hugged his still too thin body tightly, as if she could send all the best wishes through osmosis.

"Happy birthday, Har." She pulled away from the hug and walked in the direction of the wardrobe but a bark from beyond the door startled her.

"Let's go downstairs, _before he gets mad._" The last part wasn't said out loud but Phoenix didn't need their twin connection to know what he thought. In a silent agreement to exchange presents later that day they both put a dressing gown over their pyjamas and followed their godfather's path.

They followed the noise to the kitchen and stood at the door gaping.

The first thing they noticed was the huge banner floating over the table with _Happy Birthday Harry & Phoen_ written on it. Then they noticed the table itself: it was full of every breakfast food they could imagine. There was also two piles of presents on the kitchen counter - one bigger than the other. In front of the table, Sirius, Remus and Regulus were standing with huge smiles on their faces.

But what mattered the most wasn't the presents or the food but the fact that those three people took their time to make everything for them. They remembered, after 13 years of only receiving beatings on their birthday someone showing recognition over their day was beyond special. Sure, since they went to Hogwarts they always received presents from their friends, but this was different. This was family. The first birthday they could remember being celebrated with a proper family by their side.

The smile on the twins face was priceless and Regulus stepped forward holding two packages.

"The presents won't open by themselves, you know." He winked at them and that was enough to set the twins in motion. They could follow commands; they felt more comfortable with some guidance since they had no idea what one should do. "Here." He held one package for each twin, one pink and one green and clapped his hands expectantly.

Harry smiled and clapped Regulus awkwardly on the back and Phoenix was tenderly embraced.

Since their late night talk, Phoenix and Regulus had become close. They could always be seen chatting quietly on the beach or exchanging reassuring smiles. Sirius was the only one who knew what happened that night and they planned to keep it that way but Harry was beginning to notice that something happened to bring them closer. Not that he was going to complain - his sister has every right to have friends after all and Regulus was a pretty nice bloke but Harry was used to having his sister next to him all the time like a shadow - and her sudden friendship was strange. And well, Regulus was a boy. The big brotherly side of him was for the first time in this situation.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of the paper being ripped.

"I-I didn't mean to rip it apart. I-I'm sorry." Phoenix said retreating back to her shell.

"Chill Phoenix, the paper was meant to be ripped. It's all a part of birthday." Regulus said with a smile and a wink. Successfully distracting the twins from Sirius' and Remus' pained expressions.

"Oh!" She blushed and ripped what was left of the paper and Harry did the same. It revealed two books. Harry's was dark red with a moving snitch on the cover. In gold letters was written _"56 Moves a Seeker has to know"_ by a wizard called Marvell Firewood and Phoenix's was maroon with golden letters written_ "The Book of Books: a guide to books of magical Britain."_

"Thank you!" The twins said in unison, sounding just like the Weasley twins.

"It was no problem." Regulus rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen Phoenix, in this book you just have to write the subject you are searching for and a list of all British books in that subject will appear."

"Wow!" Phoenix said looking at the book in wonder. "T-Thanks Reg."

He just shook his head. "And I hope you put this book into a good use, Harry." Regulus said. "Show some moves to my dear cousin." He winked as Harry laughed. Sirius looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Draco took my spot on the team." Sirius them bark-laughed along with the rest of the occupants and ruffled his nephew's hair.

"Okay, lets move on. You can open your friends' first " Remus said clapping his hands. "This is yours, Harry." He pointed to the bigger pile.

From Ron, Harry received a book on the Puddlemere United - his favourite quidditch team. Hermione gave him a book on owls and the twins sent some sweets he wasn't going to eat - knowing them. From his other dorm mates he received magical posters and from his team mates some quidditch ones. There was also a new pair of quidditch gloves from Tonks.

Phoenix's pile was considerably smaller. There was a book on magical herbs from Ron and a book on Runes from Hermione. And the same sweets Harry received from the twins. Tonks had also sent her a gift - that emerald green dress from the shop.

She held the dress in front of her and smiled. She really loved it.

"I think it could be a little longer." Sirius said jokingly - though there was a hint of seriousness in his expression.

"Like a palm longer." Harry completed while their godfathers nodded.

Phoenix then did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him. Everyone laughed.

She glanced back to the two piles and knew that if this happened to Dudley he would be mad and make a scene but she was used to it by now. Harry had more friends than she did. She was the almost-mute bookworm who was always alone.

She put the book she was holding down and smiled at Harry who was feeling bad for receiving more presents then she did. She knew and felt it. No matter how many times Phoenix said it was okay, that it didn't matter he still felt bad. And a part of Phoenix even if it was small felt jealous. Not of the presents but of the friends he had. Everyone always forgot her, the-girl-who-lived-in-her-brothers'-shadow. True, she was introverted and was scared of meeting new people, but in her mind, why would they want to be friends with a dirty freak like her?

"Phoen? Phoenix, darling?" She snapped out of her thoughts by Sirius kneeling down in front of her.

"S-Sorry. Just lost myself in thoughts for a moment." She said looking down.

"I asked if you are ready to open the presents from Remus and I." He said stroking her hair. She nodded and flashed a smile at Harry - who was looking at her concerned.

"Here, open mine first." Remus said and held out two packages.

Harry opened his first and smiled hugely when he saw what it was.

"It's a practice snitch. You command it by voice and it'll answer only you." Remus said smiling.

"Wow! Thank you Remus! You didn't have to! Really!" Harry said still staring at the snitch in awe.

"Don't mention it. Now why don't you open yours, Phoenix?"

She nodded and ripped the package. It was a snow globe, of Hogwarts. It showed the grounds and the castle as well as Hagrid's hut and the forest.

"It works much like the Marauders map. It shows the grounds of Hogwarts at the moment."

"It's beautiful! Thank you so much!" She said hugging the globe close.

Remus just shook his head smiling.

"Now you can open mine." Sirius said with a smile like a child's.

He held to Harry and Phoenix two small packages. Harry gingerly opened it to reveal a silver bracelet.

"It belonged to your dad. Charlus - that's your grandad - gave it to him on his 16th birthday and gave me one as well." Sirius said showing his wrist. "I charmed it - whenever you are in danger my bracelet will get hot. It works as a portkey as well - just say "domus" and it will take you home." Phoenix's was a necklace with a golden lily pending from it. "Yours is the same, Phoen. Only James gave it to Lily when they started dating. They-" he took a deep breath. "They gave them to me for safekeeping when they went to hiding. In case they didn't make it."

He had barely finished speaking when two bodies collided on him. He hugged the twins back tightly and planted a kiss on the top of their heads.

"Thank you, Sirius." They both said quietly and Sirius just hugged them tighter in response.

"Now why don't you put it on. Here, let me help you, Phoenix." He did. "There's more." Sirius said with a smile and looked at Remus. "Do the honours, Moony."

The twins turned to look at their honorary Uncle.

"This one is from both of us." He held out an envelope and Harry took it. That was when the first tear fell.

In the envelope there were pictures of James and Lily in many moments of their short lives. At Hogwarts, in their wedding day, with friends, with Harry and Phoenix. In all of the pictures they were with huge smiles on their faces, but there was something different in those they were with their children. Their smiles were purer, more genuine. They were staring at their offspring with pure devotion.

Harry stopped in one particular picture that had the four of them in front of a beautiful and grandiose house. James was holding Phoenix on his hip – who was trying to take off his glasses – and Lily was holding Harry - who was pulling on her red locks. Phoenix stroked the photograph with her thumb while stepping closer to Harry. They both were crying at this point.

"Let me see-" Said Remus coming to stand behind them.

"Oh. I believe it was Sirius who took this one; wasn't it, Padfoot?"

"Yeah. It was the day you moved to Godric's Hollow. The way you went into hiding." He wiped the tears from Phoenix's cheek. "We didn't want you to feel sad on your birthday but showing these pictures is the least we could do."

"You made them beyond happy, I hope you know that. The happiest they ever were." Remus said hugging Harry close.

"Thank you." Said Harry wiping what was left of his tears. "Not only for the photos but for everything. It's the first time we spend our birthday like this-"

"Like what?" Asked Remus running his hands through Harry's messy locks.

"In f-family."

Later that day they went to the Village near the house. It looked very much like a tropical and muggle version of Hogsmeade. There were little shops including a souvenir one – where Sirius bought them all something. In the end of the day they were all sporting a blue accessory written in French.

After dinner Harry and Phoenix went to bed, claiming to be tired – which they were. Their magical core was still weak for healing all that injuries earlier that summer.

"You go first." Harry said handing Phoenix a heavy box. When she opened it she squealed and put it in her bed before jumping on her brother.

It was a shrunken greenhouse/terrarium. Magical obviously. It contained a few rare herbs used to make potions and a few of the common ingredients.

"Professor Sprout helped me with it. You just need to put it in the sun and water it once a week."

"Thank you so much, Har." She said letting him go and kneeling down beside her bed to look inside the glass. "Now open yours."

He did. It was a signed copy of Quidditch Through the Ages – signed by all the members of Puddlemere United.

"I asked Oliver Wood for his help, since he is their reserve keeper." She said blushing.

"Wow Phoen! You didn't have to, I know it must have been hard for you to talk to him given everything."

"You didn't have to as well. I'm sure it was difficult to make."

"All for you, little sis." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"All for you, little bro." She did the same and them smiled – a genuine smile. He smiled back.

**To be continued…**

**A/N: Happy new year, Potterheads. I wish all the best for you and your families. I hope this year to come is the best one yet for all of us! Thank you for everything!**


	18. Quidditch World Cup

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. This chapter contains snippets of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 17 – Quidditch World Cup**

On the early morning of the August 4th, Sirius, Remus, Regulus, the Twins and Tonks found themselves in the middle of an abandoned farm field to catch the Portkey that would take them to the location where the last match of Quidditch World Cup would take place. The only one who seemed awake was Remus, who was telling the twins all about the charms casted on the stadium so that muggles wouldn't find it accidentally.

Sirius was mumbling something about being too early to even think and bickering with Tonks. Regulus was sitting leaning on a tree half asleep and the Twins were leaning on each other while half listening to Remus.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and a hairbrush appeared near to Regulus.

"-and there is our Portkey." Said Remus moving to pick it up. "It should activate in approximately 2 and a half minutes."

"What is it with hairbrushes and Portkeys these days?" Regulus mumbled getting up and moving toward the others.

They all shrugged and touched some part of the chosen object and waited for the familiar but still uncomfortable spinning sensation.

Arriving at the camp – after Remus paid the oblivious muggle – they proceeded to search for the Weasleys, whose tent was next to theirs. Out of nowhere a mop of bushy brown hair shouted for the-boy-who-lived and collided with him, almost making him fall from the impact.

"Oh Harry! It's so good to see you! How are you? How is it like living in a magical household? Ron thinks it's no big deal! And hello, Phoenix. It's good to see you! And hi, Regulus Black is it? Harry told me about you in his letters – not much though, only that you were Sirius nephew and living with them. I think we take some classes together at Hogwarts. It's nice to actually meet you, anyway. Hermione Granger." She said it all in one breath and held out her hand for him to shake which he did.

"Merlin, Hermione! Breathe!" Ron said coming from a small tent behind her. "Hello, everyone." He said clapping Harry on the back and shaking Sirius' and Remus' hands. He waved at Phoenix and Tonks but made a big deal of just nodding at Regulus.

"Oh! Hello Sirius and Professor Lupin. It's great of you to take them in, I never liked their relatives. They always came back a little under the weather from the summer holidays." Hermione said emphatically.

"More than a bit, if you ask me." Mumbled Ron.

"Well, they are never going back there." Sirius said hugging Phoenix – who took a step back from the mention of the Dursleys – from the side and putting a hand on Harry's shoulders for support. He cleared his throat to stir this conversation out of the uncomfortable subject. "Why don't you guys go take a look around the camp? We'll meet in about two hours right here to go to the stands." He looked at his wards who nodded and their friends. "Good, do you have your wands with you?" They all nodded and Sirius gave them some money and they all left.

Harry was soon pulled aside by his friends who were interrogating him all about his new home life and holidays in France and how was it like to live with two cool godfathers. He took a look back and Phoenix gave him a tight smile.

"Is it always like that?" Regulus asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Like what?" Phoenix asked – knowing exactly what he meant. "Ron and Hermione crowding Harry and leaving me behind? Or everyone acting the same?" Regulus nodded. "To be h-honest, I wouldn't want people to suffocate me like they do to Harry but n-no one likes to be ignored. I mean, in the beginning Hermione tried to be nice but as soon as our grades started to come out she just changed with me, you know. She still tried to be nice and include me in their group but it seemed somewhat forced. And, in the end, everyone always seem to l-leave m-me behind, even Harry – though I know he doesn't do it on purpose. He just gets carried away. I-I understand them, I really do. Even nothing is better than my company." She started her speech stuttering but in the middle of it it seemed like the words were coming out of her mouth without a thought, like they were alive. Regulus could see that it pained her to admit that.

"Now, Phoen. I thought we'd gotten over it already. I like your company and I won't ever leave you behind. I've heard that gingers are soulless***** but having no brains is new to me." He said trying to lighten the mood, now was not the time or place for a serious conversation.

"Sorry." She said smiling. If anyone else talked to her like that she would probably be offended and scared but it was Reg, she was used to it. What she liked the most about him was the fact that he didn't treat her as if she was breakable and fragile. He didn't treat her differently because of her past. And it was _that _that brought them closer.

He put his arm around her. "I don't want to see you down because of them, or anyone for the matter, alright? I'm sure Harry doesn't notice what he's doing, he'd never do it if he did. I can talk to him if you want-"

"No! Don't do that, please!" She begged him with her eyes.

"Alright, but if you do just tell me."

"Guys! Come on and have a look!" Harry called out with a smile on his face.

It was a souvenir tent and they all ended up buying something. Harry bought a Bulgarian hat and a Krum figure that flew on it's small broomstick and painted his cheeks the teams' colours. Phoenix decided to support Ireland and bought a leprechaun hat and a mini leprechaun, as well as painted her cheeks green. Regulus bought a red and black hat and a whistle that played the Bulgarian anthem. The boys bought omnioculars as well and they all got the Cup's programme.

"Where shall we go now?" Regulus asked clapping his hands.

"Dad asked me to go get some water, wanna come, Harry?" Ron said looking at his best mate.

Phoenix gave Regulus a _'told you so' _look.

Harry looked at his friends but then shook his head. "I'll take a look around with Regulus and Phoenix and meet you guys later, okay?" To Ron it seemed it was not okay at all and even Hermione looked a bit crestfallen before Ron pulled her aside and went the other way.

"You could have gone, Harry. We wouldn't mind." Phoenix said feeling bad for her brother.

"So they could interrogate me more about my summer and about leaving the Dursleys? No way." He said chuckling darkly. "Come, let's take a look."

The three of them walked around the camp for a while, seeing some familiar faces from school and just gathering their surroundings before being rudely interrupted.

"Well, if it isn't the Black heir. How is it like to share your inheritance with blood traitors?" Said Lucius Malfoy with an arm around his son.

Regulus tensed before responding the same tone. "How was it like to spend years licking the hem of a half-blood's robes?"

"It seems that just a month with your Uncle was enough to destroy every good influence and respect we taught you, boy." Lucius got closer and for a moment Phoenix and Harry thought the Malfoy lord would slap Regulus.

"Nah. I've always wanted to ask you that, Uncle. Just was never brave enough. It seems the Gryffindors are rubbing off on me." Regulus then looked at Draco who was staring at him in shock. "Good to see you, Drake. We should talk later, now we've got to go."

"Look at whose company you're in, Regulus. I've never imagined you could sink so low."

"I'm okay. In fact, I've never been higher." Then he winked and left, with the twins following him after a second.

"Regulus?"Asked Phoenix when they were far away from the Malfoys. "W-What was it about s-sharing your inheritance with us?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

"Now that Uncle Sirius adopted you are legally a Black and since Sirius is Lord Black and you are legally his children you have a part on what he inherits, as do I." He said as a matter-of-fact and when he saw the twins about to protest. "That's no big deal. Honest. The Blacks have gold to last seven generations of all of us. Don't worry about it."

"Does Sirius know this?"Asked Harry letting what Regulus said sink in.

"Yes, I believe he does. He went through all the paperwork stating this to be able to adopt you." When Regulus saw the twins still looked crushed he reassured them. "As I said, it's no big deal, guys."

"So that means we're cousins?" Phoenix asked after a while of silence.

"Legally, yes. But please, don't think of me as you thought of the muggle pig. I would never, ever treat you like that. And don't worry about the gold and everything. I don't mind. I'm happy Sirius adopted the both of you. I really am."

Harry and Phoenix just smiled.

The match occurred without any disturbance. As the Weasley twins had predicted, Ireland won but Krum caught the snitch. The real problem started later that night.

It felt to Phoenix like she just went to sleep when Remus shook her awake.

"Phoenix, wake up darling. There's something going on, grab your wand."

Something was an understatement. The tents were put on fire, barbecues were thrown aside and a group of about seven masked people were moving in synchronisation in the middle of the camp. But Phoenix didn't know the extent of it yet.

When Phoenix arrived in the drawing room of their tent – which was huge on the inside – everyone was already there.

"There you are!" Said Sirius motioning her to come closer. "Listen, all of you. There is something really, really dark going on outside. The Death Eaters – Voldemort's followers – decided to practice their old ways. You need to go to the woods and stay there, we'll come and find you alright?" Sirius said kneeling down and looking inside each of his wards' eyes.

"Don't panic and stick together. Don't come out of the woods until we come to get you. And take your wands with you." Remus said sternly.

Phoenix and Regulus already had their wands in hand but Harry looked around desperate. "I can't find my wand. It's gone!"

Sirius was about to say something but there was a big crash and thought better of it. "We can search for it later, now go!" He pushed them out of their tent where the Weasleys were waiting for them. "There was an explosion near them and it was all it took for the teenagers to move in the direction of the forest – where the circumstances separated them.

Regulus and Phoenix were the first to follow the Animagus orders and run to the far left of the woods, it was just when Phoenix tripped on a branch and fell that they noticed they were alone.

Phoenix then started to scream for her brother.

"Shhhh he will not hear you but maybe the enemies will." Regulus said calmly – one of them had to be.

"I don't care! Harry is somewhere in these woods, without his wand, with loads of people who'd rather see him dead and with a big chance of being alone! It's better they find me than him. AA-" Phoenix shouted as tears fell and screamed at the end only to have Regulus to silence her.

"He's probably hiding somewhere with Ron and Hermione. They got their wands. He'll be okay. You just have to calm down, alright. You having a panic attack here won't help either of us. Come on, breathe." He said in a no nonsense voice and she did as ordered as he pulled her head to his chest. "Can you feel my breathing? Breathe with me." She nodded.

From not so far they heard a hoarse voice shout a world that in the past war was a sign everyone dreaded to her.

"MORSMODRE!" There was a flash of green light in the sky – which reminded Phoenix a lot of the Avada Kedavra curse – and a skull appeared with a snake coming out of it's mouth.

From far away they heard the battle screams intensify and then everything was quiet, the only thing they could hear was people calling out for their loved ones.

"Shit. Come on, we have to leave the woods, now."

"What is that?" Phoenix asked leaning heavily on Regulus – she had hurt her feet on the fall.

"That's the Dark Lord's mark and whoever cast the spell is very near us."

"Which of you did it?" Regulus and Phoenix heard a voice snapping as they moved through the woods. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Crouch." Said who they recognised to be Sirius.

"We didn't do that!" said Harry, gesturing up at the skull. Phoenix and Regulus walked faster towards the sound.

"We didn't do anything!" said Ron. "What did you want to attack us for?"

They could see the other now, in a small clearing in the woods.

"Do not lie, sir!" shouted an old man with a toothbrush of a moustache. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"It wasn't them." Said Regulus stepping into the clearing supporting Phoenix. "The sound came from that way." He pointed to their right.

"There was someone behind the trees… they shouted words – an incantation-"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"

But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that any of the kids had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.

"We're too late," said Remus, moving towards Phoenix to take a better look on her feet, shaking his head. "They'll have Disapparated."

"I don't think so," said Remus thinking. "Our Stunners went right through those trees… There's a good chance we got them…

"Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as the werewolf squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. A few seconds later, they heard him shout.

"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious!"

"You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"

They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Remus re-emerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky, the elf from the match. Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Remus deposited his elf on the ground at his feet. The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch. For a few seconds Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as

he stared down at Winky. Then, Sirius started laughing.

"This - cannot - be," Barty said jerkily. "No -"

He moved quickly around Remus and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky.

"No point, Mr. Crouch," Remus called after him. "There's no one else there."

But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.

"Bit embarrassing," Remus said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form.

"Your elf seems to pick up interesting things, Barty." Said Sirius darkly.

"Come off it, Sirius," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf? The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."

"Yeah," said Remus, "and she had a wand."

"What?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Here, look." Remus held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. I believe it's your missing wand, Harry. If it's all right with you,

Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."

Crouch gave no sign that he had heard the young werewolf, but Remus seemed to take his silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"

What happened then was a sucession of confusing events. Winky, the house-elf, denied having summoned the Dark Mark and claimed to have found the wand in the woods – Harry, thought it would be better not to mention that his wand had been missing even before the night's event, and the rest of the makeshift family thought the same. In the end, no one was found guilty and Winky was punished with clothes.

That way they left the woods, without Mr. Crouch even looking at his grandson who – in his mind – was as dark as his parents had been.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Hello there! I definitely hated writing this chapter because I hate having to copy things from the book. I've changed a few things to fit better into the story and there are some things I wish I could have put in this chapter but couldn't fit but I hope you liked it.**

**I hope I didn't disappoint you with Ron and Hermione's reactions, I love them both but in this story they won't be so welcoming, especially of Regulus. And Phoenix is kind of invisible to them since she is so quiet and insecure, she can't project her feelings enough to "matter" to them.**

**Anyway, I know this isn't my best chapter but I hope you enjoyed your time reading it. I can't help but state the fact that my favourite characters to write are Regulus and Phoenix. **_Here goes a question: what are your favourite characters to read?_

**By the way, I passed Cambridge Advanced Exam and my highest score was in writing! I feel like I need to thank you all for that, because if I didn't have you to read my stories I wouldn't be writing at all. To me, you are more than readers – you are friends that have supported me through it all. Thank you for that.**

*Also, on the ginger joke. It's just a JOKE, guys. I love gingers, even dyed my hair that colour.


	19. Not a Failure

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 18 – Not a Failure**

_The ground of the forest was wet. With each step Phoenix felt shivers on her skin. She was in the forest behind the world cup camp and the weather was chilly. It felt different this time, there was a haze covering the trees and she was completely alone._

_"Harry? Reg?" She called out and her voice echoed. "Sirius? Remus?"_

_Suddenly she heard a faint call for her. A call for help._

_"Harry? Where are you?" She screamed and turned around. "Harry?" _

_"Help, Phoen! P-Please!" He was closer now and in her rush to get to him she tripped and fell on the floor. The ground was wet, wet with blood._

_She screamed, a blood-curdling scream. She got up and ran faster in the direction of her brother's screams._

_She found him in the clearing, the same clearing she found him on the world cup. He was bloodied and tied to a tree. His breathing was ragged and he was pale._

_She ran towards him but the floor was sinking, like a quicksand. _

_"You didn't save me, Phoenix. Y-you didn't come." Her brother said looking at her as she drowned in the sand._

_"I'm sorry, Harry. Please, please don't die on me." She said as she waved her arms trying to get away of the blood red river of sand._

_"You're a failure. You failed me. It's your fault I'll die. Your fault." Then Harry went limp. _

Phoenix shot up in her bed, tears streaming down her face. Harry was there, looking very much alive. So were Sirius, Remus and Regulus. They were all in her bedroom, in their home. The lights were on and they all looked like they needed to sleep. But Phoenix didn't have eyes for any of that; in her mind, she was still seeing the red sand, swallowing her as she watched her brother die.

"HARRY!" She screamed once more. She tried to breathe but the air wasn't coming, her body was shivering. She could clearly hear voices calling out her name, she could feel someone holding her but it all seemed unimportant when her brother was dying in front of her eyes.

_She was back in the cupboard under the stairs, 6 years ago, Harry was lying on the hard mattress which was stained with blood._

"_N-No! D-Don't leave me Harry!" She cried as she tried to stop the bleeding coming from a gash on his leg._

FLASH

_She was 5, tied to the doorknob as her Uncle beat her brother with the buckle of his belt. Tears streaming down her face as she watched her brother cry out for someone, anyone, to help them._

"_I'm gonna beat the freakishness out of you, boy. How dare you say Dudley was lying! You are the liar. You are beneath his feet," Her Uncle screamed with rage._

FLASH

_She was twelve, it was the summer before her second year, she had her hands tied behind her back. Her mouth was full of cotton, so she couldn't breathe properly or scream._

_Her brother was lying on the floor or the kitchen, a puddle of blood only growing around him as their Uncle worked with a knife on his masterpiece._

_She struggled and struggled to spit out the cotton, to beg her Uncle to do it to her instead._

"_You filthy animal!" Vernon roared as he aimed a kick on Harry's jaw. "How dare you use your freakishness in front of our guests! It cost me a contract! Ohhh you will pay, boy. And so is your sister."_

"_No, no." Harry mumbled. "Phoen- no"_

_FLASH_

_They were seven, it was in the middle of the night when their Uncle led them to the shed behind the house at knife point. They were still bleeding from the beating they suffered minutes before. When they arrived there, there was a hole on the ground._

"_Girl! You get in!" _

"_No, Uncle! Please! Don't! Let me, instead!" Harry cried._

"_Get in, boy! Don't make me regret you switching places!" The Walrus of a man tied the boy and threw him in the pit._

"_No! P-P-Please U-Uncle V-V-Vernon! I'll I'll go!" Phoenix shouted._

_Vernon punched her on the face._

"_Shut up, bitch and watch the show." Vernon tied her to a pillar and proceeded to burry Harry alive, leaving only his face outside._

_Phoenix could only watch and - for the first time in years – she screamed._

"PHOENIX! Harry is here and he is okay, breathe with me, pup. Come on." Sirius – the one holding her – said and she was slowly gathering her surroundings. She first noticed the white ceiling, then the walls, then the occupants of the room. Her eyes came to rest on her brother, who was staring at her worried.

She launched herself into him, her arms around his neck and head resting on his shoulders and kept crying. Of fear, of relief, of embarrassment.

She felt, rather than saw, her Godfathers and best friend leave the room and felt her brother pull her closer.

"Shhhh. It's okay, Phoen. You're okay, I'm okay. It was just a dream." Her brother kept mumbling nonsense as she slowly calmed down enough to pull away.

"I-I'm sorry, Har. It was terrible. You were dying. You called out for me but I couldn't help. I failed you." The auburn haired girl cried brokenly.

"It was not real, Phoen. I'm here, see? You didn't fail me, you never do."

"I always fail you, Harry. I failed you at the Dursleys because I couldn't protect you, at Hogwarts the same. It's just a matter of time before I fail you again." She cried pulling her legs to her chest.

"Hey. Don't you ever say that. Do you hear me? You, Phoenix, are not a failure. You have never, ever, failed me. Got it? There was nothing you could have done to protect me. In fact, _I _am the failure here. _I_ should have protected you." Harry said bitterly.

"No, Harry. You've always been the best brother I could have ever asked for. Please don't say that."

"I've been a shitty brother and you know it. You almost died many times over the years no matter how I tried not to let Vernon hurt you. You got raped, beaten and starved and I was there. I'm the saviour of the Wizarding World and couldn't keep a muggle away from my sister."

"Will you stop blaming yourself for things you have no control over?" Phoenix shouted. "You couldn't have protected me from what he did, you were in the same boat as me. Stop being so hard on yourself, Harry. Stop wanting to be the hero all the time."

Harry nodded and looked down. "You know you are just like me, in that way, don't you?" He said with a pained smile and was surprised with a short laugh from his sister.

"Shut up." She said.

There was silence for a moment.

"Are you feeling better now?" Harry asked and Phoenix nodded. "I need to talk to you about something." He took a deep breath. "I feel like we have distanced ourselves since we came here. I don't want that to happen." He said quietly.

"I don't want it to happen either, Harry. I'm s-scared, I'm so s-scared of losing you. I feel like you're slipping away. In that forest, when I looked behind me and you weren't there, I felt like something was ripped inside me. And every time you are with Ron and Hermione I feel like there's a bridge between us that I can't cross." She said brokenly.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't want you to think I was jealous or something. I know how you like them and I didn't want you to divide you."

"I'm sorry, Phoen. Had I known, I'd never do that. I didn't mean to ignore you, or neglect you. You have to believe me." Harry said, tears leaking from the corners of his green eyes.

"I know, Har." She said and launched herself into him for the second time in the night. This time he pulled her to his lap and hugged her tightly. "Please, please, don't drift away from me. You are the only one I've got left."

"I'd never, Phoen. I love you too much to do that." He said crying openly now.

After a while they pulled away.

"Do you think you'll be able to sleep?" Harry asked his sister.

"Only if you stay with me." She said and blushed.

"Of course I will."

They both laid down side by side and closed their eyes. His hand gripped hers and all was well.

To be continued…

**A/N: So, loads of readers asked for this chapter. I didn't like it much but it's just a filler. I hope you liked the bonding scene and everything.**

**I've not been so good. Had a terrible week but I'm feeling a bit better now and as a song says: "A little bit longer, and I'll be fine." **

**Thank you for all the amazing review I've gotten and the follows and favourites. I really am grateful for such a support and you guys help me get through these hard times.**

**Also, in response to JK's interview about Ronmione and Harmony: this story will follow canon ships, and Phoenix and Regulus will be a couple in the end so don't worry about the "cousin" thing. It's just legally speaking – of course there will be some debate on that.**

**My UNI classes are starting on Monday so I don't know when I'll be able to update, though I'll try.**

**Thanks again for everything!**


	20. Of Voldemort and Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognise.**

**This first scene is from the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it belongs to JK.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 19- Of ****Voldemort and Diagon Alley**

"_There is a little more in the bottle, My Lord, if you are still hungry."_

"_Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man — but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail."_

_The old man, Frank, turned his right ear toward the door, the better to hear. Frank caught a glimpse of a small man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back of his head. Then he went out of sight again._

"_Where is Nagini?" said the cold voice._

"_I — I don't know, My Lord," said the first voice nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think..."_

"_You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."_

_Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man called Wormtail spoke again._

"_My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"_

"_A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet.."_

"_Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly._

"_Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in the cold voice now. A slight pause followed — and the Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve._

"_It could be done without Harry Potter, My Lord." Another pause, more protracted, and then — "Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see..."_

"_My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard — any wizard — the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while — you know that I can disguise myself most effectively — I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person —"_

"_I could use another wizard," said the cold voice softly, "that is true..."_

"_My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected —"_

"_And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder... perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"_

"_My Lord! I — I have no wish to leave you, none at all —"_

"_Do not lie to me!" hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me..."_

"_No! My devotion to Your Lordship —"_

"_Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go. How am I to survive without you, when I need feeding every few hours? Who is to milk Nagini?"_

"_But you seem so much stronger, My Lord —"_

"_Liar," breathed the second voice. "I am no stronger, and a few days alone would be enough to rob me of the little health I have regained under your clumsy care. Silence!"_

_Wormtail, who had been sputtering incoherently, fell silent at once. The second man spoke once more, in a whisper that was almost a hiss._

"_I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you, and I will use no other. I have waited thirteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the boy, I believe my plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail — courage you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath —"_

"_My Lord, I must speak!" said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. "All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head — My Lord, Bertha Jorkins disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I murder —"_

"_If?" whispered the second voice. "If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that I could do it myself, but in my present condition... Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful servant will have rejoined us —"_

"_I am a faithful servant," said Wormtail, the merest trace of sullenness in his voice._

"_Wormtail, I need somebody with brains, somebody whose loyalty has never wavered, and you, unfortunately, fulfil neither requirement."_

"_I found you," said Wormtail, and there was definitely a sulky edge to his voice now. "I was the one who found you. I brought you Bertha Jorkins."_

"_That is true," said the second man, sounding amused. "A stroke of brilliance I would not have thought possible from you, Wormtail — though, if truth be told, you were not aware how useful she would be when you caught her, were you?"_

"_I — I thought she might be useful, My Lord —"_

"_Liar," said the second voice again, the cruel amusement more pronounced than ever. "However, I do not deny that her information was invaluable. Without it, I could never have formed our__plan, and for that, you will have your reward, Wormtail. I will allow you to perform an essential task for me, one that many of my followers would give their right hands to perform..."_

"_One more murder... my faithful servant at Hogwarts... Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet... I think I hear Nagini..."_

_And the second man's voice changed. He started making noises such as Frank had never heard before; he was hissing and spitting without drawing breath. Frank thought he must be having some sort of fit or seizure._

_And then Frank heard movement behind him in the dark passageway. He turned to look, and found himself paralyzed with fright. Something was slithering toward him along the dark corridor floor, and as it drew nearer to the sliver of firelight, he realized with a thrill of terror that it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long. Horrified, transfixed, Frank stared as its undulating body cut a wide, curving track through the thick dust on the floor, coming closer and closer — What was he to do? The only means of escape was into the room where the two men sat plotting murder, yet if he stayed where he was the snake would surely kill him —_

_But before he had made his decision, the snake was level with him, and then, incredibly, miraculously, it was passing; it was following the spitting, hissing noises made by the cold voice beyond the door, and in seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the gap._

_There was sweat on Frank's forehead now, and the hand on the walking stick was trembling. Inside the room, the cold voice was continuing to hiss, and Frank was visited by a strange idea, an impossible idea... This man could talk to snakes. Frank didn't understand what was going on. He wanted more than anything to be back in his bed with his hot-water bottle. The problem was that his legs didn't seem to want to move. As he stood there shaking and trying to master himself, the cold voice switched abruptly to English again._

"_Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," it said. "In-indeed, My Lord?" said Wormtail._

"_Indeed, yes," said the voice, "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say."_

_And then the chair was facing Frank, and he saw what was sitting in it. His walking stick fell to the floor with a clatter. He opened his mouth and let out a scream. He was screaming so loudly that he never heard the words the thing in the chair spoke as it raised a wand. There was a flash of green light, a rushing sound, and Frank Bryce crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor._

Harry sat up in his bed, his hand shooting to his scar before he vomited all over himself and the bed. He let out a strangled cry and bolted to the bathroom where he emptied the contents of his stomach.

He could feel rather than see someone crouching down next to him and start to rub his back and another cold hand holding his head as he vomited.

He heard in the background Sirius telling Phoenix and Regulus to go back to sleep and heard as well his sister's protests.

"I-I'm not leaving him. He needs me. Y-You can punish me anyway you want. I won't leave my brother's side" Phoenix said with a trembling but determined tone of voice and he felt the hand on his back stop for a second before he retched again and nothing came out and the hand restarted its moving.

"I'm... fine. Go back... To bed... Phoenix." He managed to say before he heaved again and his body became limp.

He had no strength to protest as he was pulled against someone's chest and rocked back and forth.

He realised that he now was sitting half on the floor and half on Remus' lap as he sobbed but his feelings were so strong that he couldn't even complain of being held like a child, it was exactly what he needed. Harry was terrified.

"Please." He begged between sobs. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"But-"

"Phoenie, " Sirius said taking her hands in his, his voice urgent. "Look at me. No one will hurt you or punish you in any way for wanting to help your brother. But that's what we're here for. Let us take care of both of you. Give us a chance, alright? If we need you I'll call you right away." He finished with a soft kiss on her small hand. She nodded and turned around to the arms of Regulus who put his arm around her and led her to her bedroom.

Now Sirius, Remus and a limp Harry were the only ones in the bathroom. Harry was shaking with the force of his sobs and his lightning bolt scar was dark red, fat tears were steadily coming down his face.

"Shhh Harry. It's okay, you're okay. You're safe. No one will hurt you." Remus said soothingly. "Let it out, cub. I've got you."

Harry cried for a good five minutes before his sobs turned into hiccups.

"Do you want to talk about it, pup? Mm?" Sirius said crouching down and carding his fingers through Harry's hair.

Harry looked down at his hands and shook his head. Before reached out unconsciously to touch his scar.

"Come on, puppy. If your scar is paining you, then it must be serious. We have to know what it was about." He continued carding his fingers through his godson's hair and Harry this time relaxed back on Remus arms.

"It was about V-Voldemort. Wormtail was there with him."

"Wait! Wormtail? Are you sure?" Sirius asked jumping up. Harry nodded. "The damn rat must have escaped and the ministry mustn't know yet. Damn, you Wormtail!" Sirius was pissed.

"Sirius!" Remus said in a warning tone looking at him meaningfully. "Now is not the time." Harry was trying to make himself as small as possible on Remus' arms, tears having started falling again.

"I'm not mad at you, puppy." Sirius said with a soft voice, carding his fingers through

Harry's hair. "Please, continue."

"He – I mean Voldemort - was saying something about a loyal follower at Hogwarts and about killing this woman. Then he killed this old man." Harry said, voice trembling. "He- He was saying something about killing m-me." Harry then looked up at Remus and Sirius tears falling fast from his eyes. "I-I don't wanna die, Sirius, Remus, _not anymore_."

"You won't, Harry. You won't. We will do everything in our power to keep you safe. No harm will come to you while we're around, got it?" Remus said pulling him closer.

Harry nodded and leaned closer to Remus relishing the comfort, crying on his shoulder and letting it all out. He knew had this happened at the Dursley's he would be receiving a nasty beating. And so would his sister. _"Sirius and Remus must be disgusted on how weak I am. A cry baby."_ that thought, along with the realization that he was covered in sick, made him tense and try to get up, only to fall back down on Remus' lap.

"Come here." Sirius said getting up of his kneeling position at the floor, his back cracking, pulling Harry up with him and pulling him into a hug. "I'll protect you with my life if it comes to it, pup."

"No! You can't! If both of you die then Phoenix will be going to an orphanage. Who will protect her? Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." Harry said pulling away from Sirius getting worked up. "You have to protect _her_, not me. Please. I'll do anything."

Sirius got Harry's face between his hands and looked into his wide – and scared – green eyes. "We will protect both of you. We are not leaving you for a long time, got it? You are stuck with us now." Sirius then pulled Harry into a hug again, not caring about messing up his clothes and Harry felt Remus soft hands caress the back of his head. After a second Sirius felt Harry nod into his chest and hug him back tightly.

After a while Sirius pulled away and ruffled Harry's hair with a smile.

"Cub, why don't you take a quick bath, mm?" Sirius said with a soft smile.

Harry nodded blushing.

"Come on, arms up." He followed his godfather's commands- his face dark red – and was soon shirtless, scars from years of abuse covering his body. He could hear in the background the sound of Remus turning on the faucet.

"We'll wait for you in your bedroom." Said Sirius as Remus left the bathroom.

"Wait!" Harry said holding onto Sirius' hand. "P-Please, don't leave me alone." Sirius could see on his godson's eyes how hard it was for him to ask. How hard it was to suppress the embarrassment, pride and years of being treated like less than dirt. Harry's face was on fire and he was looking down at the floor.

"I'll just get a fresh pair of pyjamas for you, alright?" Harry nodded and Sirius left, meeting Remus outside.

"Sirius, Dumbledore has to know about the dream. I have a guess the woman Voldemort talked about was Bertha Jorkins. And we have to tell him about a Death Eater being in Hogwarts." Remus said once the heard the sound of shuffling water.

"Yeah. I think so as well." Sirius said pacing. "Damn it, Remus! I can't believe they were so stupid to let Wormtail escape." He punched the wall.

Regulus then peeked through Phoenix's door to see what was the commotion.

"Uncle, is everything alright?" He asked warily.

"Yeah, Reggie." Sirius said composing himself with a fake smile. "Any problem?"

"No, we were just talking." Regulus smiled.

"You should go to bed, Regulus. It's late and we have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow." Remus said.

"Okay. Let me just say good night." Regulus went back to Phoenix who was sitting under her covers and gave her a kiss on the forehead and said something in rushed tones before leaving to his room.

Sirius then summoned a pair of pyjamas for Harry and cleaned himself with a spell and went back to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Remus entered Phoenix's room and sat down at the feet of the bed.

"W-Where is Harry? I-Is he o-okay?" She said her green eyes wide open.

"He's taking a quick bath, before going to bed. He's calmer now, don't worry." Remus said straightening the covers over her.

She nodded. "D-Did he tell you s-something about the dream?"

"He did. It was Voldemort, that's why his scar was flaming red." Remus answered with a grimace before sighing. "Don't worry about it, Phoenie. Go back to sleep, we have to go get school supplies tomorrow."

She looked like she was about to say something but changed her mind and nodded, lying down.

Remus pulled the covers to her chin and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart." He ran his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. Hearing no noise from Harry's room he went to bed.

Sirius entered the bathroom to see Harry in the bath, his knees drawn to his chest and eyes closed, his pyjama pants in the hamper. He sat down on the toilet lid.

"Are you feeling better, pup?" Sirius asked smoothing the top of Harry's head. Harry nodded.

Sirius then started to talk about his Hogwarts time and Harry started to relax, after about ten minutes of storytelling Sirius called out to Harry.

"Come on, pup. It's late." Sirius turned around to give Harry privacy and heard the shuffling of his godson drying himself and dressing up.

"You can turn around now." Sirius did and smiled at his bathed and blushing child.

"Let's go to bed, shall we?" Harry nodded and felt Sirius hand on his back as he led him to his bedroom.

Harry laid down on the bed under the covers and Sirius beside him, over the covers.

Sirius carded his fingers through Harry's hair and felt him (Harry) come closer. "Why don't you try to fall back asleep, pup? It's three am, already."

"No, Sirius. Please. I-I can't." Harry pulled away from his godfather and started to get worked up.

"Harry, calm down." Sirius pulled Harry closer to him so that his godson's head was resting on his shoulder. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Harry looked down and nodded, his blood rushing to his face. "Won't you mind?" He asked quietly.

"No, not at all." Sirius smiled to his godson, his eyes full of love.

Sirius dimmed the lights and Harry laid down his head on Sirius chest.

"S-Sorry for being such a baby, Sirius, Sorry for being so… needy." Harry said quietly, his face red.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. In your place wouldn't want to be alone either, and I like being here for you. I wasn't there before but I plan on making up for everything we lost."

Harry nodded and closed his eyes.

"Thank you." He said.

It was listening Sirius heartbeat that made him fall back asleep.

Diagon Alley was crowded with families that left the school shopping for the last minute, just like them. When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron people pointed and blatantly stared at them making no effort to quiet their comments.

They quickly made their way to the entrance of the Alley and Remus touched the bricks with his wand. The teens – even Regulus – stared in wonder as the bricks moved and opened the passage to the most popular street of the Wizarding World.

First they went to Gringotts, where Sirius, Regulus and Harry went to the vault and Remus waited patiently with Phoenix.

Sirius got the money from his family vault – which was technically his – and didn't let Harry or Regulus make a trip to their trust vault because "He (Sirius) had enough to provide for all of them times ten."

After leaving the bank they went to Madam Malkin's' since they all had grown in the summer. Well, Harry and Phoenix had gained a bit of weight though they still weren't in their ideal weight.

Then they went to the apothecary and to the Flourish and Blotts, the book shop.

After paying for all the books they decided to go lunch on a small restaurant in Diagon Alley. Sirius, Remus and Regulus noticed that this was a new situation to Harry and Phoenix did their best to distract them and make them feel comfortable.

The last place they went was the Eyelops Owl Emporium, where Harry, Regulus and Sirius bought treats to their owls, Hedwig, Oghma and Freya.

When they were going back to the Leaky Cauldron to catch the floo to go back home they passed the Magical Menagerie and Phoenix stopped suddenly, making Regulus bump into her.

In the shop window there was a small grey kneazle, so small that it could fit into Sirius' hand.

Phoenix got closer to the glass and put her hand on the glass, as if to touch it.

Sirius knelt down next to her, only to notice she had tears in her eyes. "Hey, hey, Phoenix. Why are you crying? Don't you like it?" He was surprised when she jumped into his arms and hid his face in the crook of his neck. He felt she nod. "What happened, Phoenix?"

Harry answered to her. "It reminds her of Baldur. The kneazle Hagrid gave her." Nobody asked what happened to her pet.

Sirius then suggested Remus to take them to Florean Fortescue's while he finished a last minute errand he had to do in Diagon Alley. When they were out of sight, he entered the pet shop.

"I'd like to buy that kneazle."

And so he did, along with toys and bed and food – things that Padfoot didn't have, mind you.

He picked up the grey ball who purred and snuggled into his chest and made his way to the ice cream parlour. They all noticed him, except for Phoenix who was staring transfixed at nothing.

He got closer to her and knelt down.

"Phoenie?" She turned and looked at him in confusion then in realisation. "I know she can't replace your old pet but I thought both of you needed each other.

Words could not describe the happiness contained in Phoenix's emerald eyes. And they all say that eyes are windows to the soul.

To be continued…

**A/N: Hope you liked the new chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I've been studying really hard and became teaching assistant of Anatomy at UNI so my free time has been cut even shorter. On top of that I had a major writer's block. **

**And on the 1****st**** was my eighteenth birthday so I'm finally of-age (in Brazil at least). Now to some answers:**

**- Why are the pets called those strange names? They are all Gods and Goddesses of something that reminded me of them. **

**- What happened to Phoenix's first kneazle? Vernon killed it – maybe I can write the scene another time and post here.**

**Please review and say what you'd love to see in this story, I'll do my best to write another chapter before UNI starts again.**

**Thank you for everything!**


	21. Eventful Trainride

**Disclaimer: HP is not mine.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 20- Eventful Trainride**

The Platform 9 and 3/4 was busy on that September 1st will all kinds of families, all of them to see their children off to Hogwarts, some for the first time and some for the last.

Sirius, Remus, Regulus, Harry and Phoenix arrived at the station a quarter until eleven am and chose a corner away from the people's eyes so they could spend their last minutes together until the Christmas Break.

The only girl was carrying a small grey kneazle while the two boys were carrying owls. Harry a snowy owl with yellow eyes and Reg a long eared one.

Sirius and Remus were telling the youngsters about how the Marauders met, Sirius with an arm around Harry and Remus with a hand on Phoenix's back. Regulus was walking by the girl's side.

When it was ten until eleven, the clock chimed alerting them it was time to say goodbye and board the train to the beautiful school in Scotland.

Sirius and Remus helped the teenagers put their trunks on the train before saying farewell.

Sirius pulled his godson to a long hug and bent down to his eye level with a hand on each side of Harry's face.

"Are you okay?" Harry nodded. "Remember what I told you. If you need us, just write or ask Dumbledore to use his floo. He won't mind. And if you notice anything, anything strange or suspicious don't hesitate to tell Remus and I, got it?"

"Yeah." Harry said. "Sirius? Thank you." The emerald eyed boy said before burying himself on his godfather's embrace once more, not caring if he was too old to be hugged in public. Sirius didn't ask him what for, he knew what Harry was referring to.

"Love you, pup." Sirius said ruffling his godson's messy hair.

Meanwhile, Remus was talking to Phoenix. "Darling, if you need to talk or need anything just remember we are here for you. We'll be at Hogwarts in a heartbeat, alright? I mean it. I love you." Then he hugged her and felt her nod against his chest.

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and she smiled, her eyes moist.

Then the friends swapped. Sirius lifted Phoenix up and spun her around before putting her down. She blushed and smiled at her godfather's antics.

"Will you be alright, sweetheart?" He said running a hand through her red hair. She nodded and her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "Hey, now. Don't cry, little one. What's wrong, huh?" Sirius said worriedly pulling her to his chest.

"I-I will m-miss you. I-I never h-had someone to m-miss before. I-I'm being stupid." She said brokenly trying to pull away.

"I will miss you too, Flamie. Way more than you think it's possible. Now don't be sad, otherwise I will be worried, alright?" Her godfather tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm s-sorry." She said looking down.

"No-sense. I love you, sweetheart." He kissed her head again and held her close for a minute, not giving a knut if anyone was watching. Neither was she.

As soon as Harry was standing in front of him, Remus hugged the messy haired boy and ruffled his hair.

"Don't forget to write to us, cub. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I love you." The werewolf said kissing the top of Harry's head.

Regulus, who was standing awkwardly near them, was called out by his Uncle. When he was standing close enough Sirius pulled the Black heir close by the scruff of his neck.

"I will wait for your letters, alright Reg?" Regulus nodded.

"I will look out for the twins for you and Remus, Uncle Sirius." He said.

"Take care of yourself as well, Reggie. Okay? Love you." Sirius ruffled his nephew's hair and watched Remus pat the youngest Black on the back before his three wards boarded the train.

Once inside the train, Regulus and Harry closed the heavy door of the wagon while Phoenix pushed the window open and snuck her head outside, soon followed by the two boys. They waved until their guardians were out of sight.

"Shall we find a compartment?" Regulus said stretching his arms above his head.

"Ron and Hermione are probably looking for us. You're welcome to join us, Regulus." Harry said, though they knew Ron would have a fit.

"Er... I will look for Terry, he's from Ravenclaw and has Arithmancy with us. He's a friend and I want to discuss piece of our summer assignment." Regulus said looking uncomfortable.

Harry nodded and Phoenix did the same hesitantly. She didn't exactly want to be with the duo, since they almost never acknowledged her but still, Harry was her brother.

They parted ways and the twins soon found the brunette and the ginger.

"Harry! I didn't see you at the platform! I was worried! Oh Merlin, I thought you wouldn't come!" Hermione rushed over and hugged the chosen one.

"Hermione's right, mate! We thought you were locked up or something!" Ron said earning a slap from Hermione but before she could scold him, Phoenix surprised everyone (including herself).

"S-Sirius and Remus would n-never do that." She said with more conviction than she felt, there was still that small voice in her head telling her that their guardians would sooner or later resort to the same methods as the Dursleys but no one, absolutely no one, was allowed to talk about those who rescued them like that. Her emerald eyes were alive with fury.

Harry put a hand on her shoulder and turned to look at his first male friend, his glare hard.

"Of course not! Ronald is being stupid!" Hermione said hitting Ron over the head.

"Ouch!" Ron glared at Hermione before apologising, his face red.

They say down, Phoenix and Harry on a bench and Ron and Hermione on the other.

Phoenix proceeded to scratch Ash (her kneazle) behind the ears and was rewarded with a purr. Crookshanks was staring at the grey one in curiosity. Hermione was reading a book and Ron managed to engage Harry in a game of wizards chess.

The auburn haired girl got up with the small kneazle in her arms making everyone's heads turn towards her.

"I-I'm going t-to find R-Reg." She said quietly answering her brother's questioning look.

Ron snorted. "Find that slimy snake? Honestly, I know he is Sirius' nephew and all but both of you don't have to associate with him here."

Hermione didn't say a word to disagree with him.

"Regulus is our friend, Ron!" Harry said.

"Friend? I bet he's into some crazy plot to hand the two of you to Death Eaters. He used to live with Malfoy, for God's sake! His mother was Voldemort's favourite, everyone knows that!" The ginger boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Take. It. Out." Phoenix said her voice rage filled and cool at the same time. Her fingers were gripping her wand while she put the grey fur ball on the floor. Normally she wouldn't defy someone but he was insulting her best friend, besides Harry that is. The only one their age to listen to her and treat her for who she was. She saw red. "Don't you ever say a word against Regulus again in front of me. Or Sirius and Remus for the matter. He is more than you will ever be and I feel sorry that you are so alienated to the point that you brand people for being in a different house, or who their relationships are. He is more than your bigoted mind could ever see or archive." She said, surprising herself with the burst of bravery. In her speech, her voice was strong and didn't waver - totally different from the girl she normally was. She stormed out of the compartment with her bag that contained her school robes leaving a red and gaping Weasley, befuddled Granger and proud twin brother behind.

Once she was gone Ron said "What's wrong with your sister? It's like she was brainwashed or something."

"Ronald-" Hermione said warningly.

"Phoenix is just standing up for her friends and being herself. There's nothing wrong with her! Don't you dare say that! Now, there must be something wrong with you because since you properly met Regulus at the World Cup you've been going mental! He is my friend, Sirius and Remus are my guardians and you have to accept that!"

"Calm down, mate. I think it's great that Sirius and Remus took you away from the Dursleys! I just don't see how the Black boy could be your friend!" Ron said with a frown.

"We just worry about you, Harry." Hermione said.

"That Black boy has a name and is my friend, whether you like it or not. It doesn't matter if he is in Slytherin, or who his mother was, he is a nice person and we live together. So just respect that." Harry said tiredly. "I'm going to find my sister." He walked to the compartment door and turned around. "And Ron, don't you ever, ever say there's something wrong with my sister. Got it?" Harry said his gaze hard and unrelenting before walking out.

* * *

><p>Phoenix didn't see where she was going, she didn't even notice when someone put a leg on her way to trip her. It was the same one who extended his hand.<p>

"Do you need help?" A tall, blond and slightly tanned boy asked with a smile. "Here." He said as he lifted her to her feet.

She mumbled a quiet and stuttered thank you.

"I'm Cormac McLaggen, I'm a year above you and your brother, Gryffindor of course." He said with a winning and – as she would learn later on - fake smile. "Phoenix isn't it?" She nodded, fiddling with her shirt.

"I-I h-have t-to g-g-go." She said turning around.

"No sense. Why don't you come in, I would love to get to know you better." The blond grabbed her arm and turned her around. In his eyes she could see that this wasn't a question, she had a bad feeling about this.

She nodded and he relaxed his grip, he opened the compartment (the last one in the wagon) door and locked it after her, making sure to close the shutters as well.

When he turned around she could see a malicious glint in his eyes. A glint that seemed very familiar.

He pushed her against the glass and forced his lips on hers. His arms moved frantically all over her body and rested on her butt. She tried to push him away with all her strength, she turned her head to one side but Cormac just grabbed her face in his big hands and squeezed it. He force-kissed her once more and she tried to push him away with her hands.

This was different. Vernon never ever kissed her, he wouldn't dirty himself. He just wanted sex, no matter what kind.

Then, out of nowhere, the young man's hand collided with her tearstained face.

"Listen me because I will only say it once, you little whore" He spit the last words "I know everything that happened between you and your muggle relatives. My Uncle is a high placed official of the Ministry, was at their trial and he told me everything about your case. I know your Uncle beat you and fucked you. I know he beat the-boy-who-lived as well and if I just let my tongue slip for the right person the whole magical Britain will know and we both know I'll have plenty of opportunities to let it spill with all attention turned to Hogwarts." He said pushing her body against the glass and pinning her arms to the sides. Phoenix knew what he was talking about, her guardians told them that an international event would happen this year at Hogwarts and though they did not entered the details not to spoil the surprise, Phoenix could assume it was huge, for sure the press will be there and they will for sure want to know how their saviours were hurt by their muggle uncle. She couldn't let that happen!

"W-W-What d-do y-you w-want?" She stuttered out, her heart pumping fast and her hands sweating.

"Straight to the point, aren't you?" He said caressing her cheek. She shivered. "What I want is for you to pretend to be my girlfriend." Phoenix gaped at him confused. "The press will sure want to learn more about your brother's life and consequently yours. If we have some sort of relationship they will for sure want to know more about the one who stole your heart. To make it short, I want you to make me famous." He grinned maliciously.

"B-but I-I'm n-not f-famous! I-it's Harry k-killed V-Vold-" He squeezed her arm in warning. "Y-You-Know-Who." She said confused. Why would they want to know more about her? She was no one.

McLaggen just laughed. "Your brother killed You-Know-Who, that makes you famous for being his sister. Got it or want me to draw it for you?" He said as if she had some kind of mental problem.

"B-But-"

"No buts. You are going to pretend that you are in love with me, that I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you. Make sure you say something about me every time the press approaches you and make sure your brother knows how good I am to you. And you better be convincing, or you know what'll happen." He said, cupping and squeezing her face with his right hand while moving his face even closer. She could feel his hot breath. "Are we clear?"

"Y-yes." She stuttered out

"Good" He smiled - a smile that would have more than half of Hogwarts' female students population swooning - and caressed her cheek again. "We don't have to have a bad time, kitten. But you will if you don't follow the rules. Don't make me hurt you."

She just nodded, looking down and biting her fingers.

"Good." The blonde said again before kissing her neck. "We should practice, after all we are going out."

"W-what s-should I-I tell m-my brother o-on how w-we met?" She asked worriedly and trying to keep him from kissing her at the same time.

"Tell your brother that we met last school year at the library or something. I'm sure you'll make something up, you managed to fool everyone for three years, after all." She nodded and closed her eyes and he kissed her neck again, before going down her breast.

"P-P-Please, s-stop." She said brokenly, her breathing getting laboured.

"Nah, remember kitten, you are enjoying it. Or you won't enjoy the consequences." He said, his gaze hard and threatening. His hands were squeezing painfully her upper arms.

Tears were falling fast from her eyes as he forced himself on her. He pinned her against the window and kissed her mouth with a force that made her lip bleed.

Phoenix just let him, knowing it was better to suffer alone in silence that have everyone in the Wizarding World knowing what they'd suffered for 13 years. She couldn't let them know about the punishments, how weak the twins were against their Uncle. The Death Eaters would for sure explore their weakness and tell Voldemort when he came back – and Dumbledore said he would. Witches and wizards would look at them with pity, disgust. They would look at her brother in a new light, a bad one. She couldn't let that happen. Sirius and Remus would think they wanted attention, once everyone started ranting about the twins' weakness and how they deserved what they got their guardians were bound to see the truth. They wouldn't want them anymore.

After a while, the blond boy pulled away.

"Tut, tut. You're gonna have to do better than that, kitten." Phoenix nodded. Cormac sat down on the bench. "Come on, sit." He said patting the space beside him. She hesitated but sat down slowly beside him. He put an arm around her and she flinched, he ignored. "Since for all the effects we are catching up on our summer, I'll tell you more about my summer with my uncle Tiberius in Norfolk."

He went on and on about how they hunted nogtails along with Rufus Scrimgeour (the head of the Auror Office) and Bertie Higgs. Then about his Uncle's job and how he wanted to work at the Ministry when he finished Hogwarts. Never for one second did he ask about how Phoenix felt or how was her summer. After a while, he dozed off into dreamland while reading a book and she got up of her place beside him. She was startled when his hand grabbed her wrist and he opened his light brown eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, his eyes hard.

"I-I h-have t-t-to c-change into my s-school uni-uniform, Cormac." She said backing away.

"Alright, don't take long. And Phoenix? Try not to stutter, it's kind of annoying." She nodded quickly looking down. "Oh, and when we're in public call me Mac. It will show some sort of intimacy between us." She nodded, grabbed her bag that was on the floor and unlocked the door.

She made her way quickly to the nearest loo and closed the door. Grateful she didn't bump into anyone this time.

The auburn haired girl slid down the wall and pulled her knees to her chest.

She wasn't expecting something like this to happen. She didn't want her first kiss to be like this, something forced. But Phoenix knew she could tell no one.

Why couldn't things work out for her? Why did something always happen to make her suffer? She knew that not accepting Cormac's offer was not an option. She couldn't bear everyone knowing. Still, if his Uncle managed to tell him about the trial, did that mean every Ministry worker who was at the judgement told their relatives? Just that thought was enough to make her hyperventilate. She wanted everything to be normal and easy for once. She wanted to be back at their house in the outskirts of Oxford with the ones who seemed to care for her. Her tears fell faster as she thought about her new family. She had to do this.

After a while she stood up, washing her face with cool water and changing into her brand knew school clothes. She finished braiding her long red hair just as the train stopped. Phoenix blended in the crowd of students and made her way to the carriages.

She was almost there when she saw Harry and Regulus searching the crowd. She made her way to them.

"Phoenix!" Harry said once he saw her pulling her into a hug. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you like crazy! You can't just disappear like that!"

"We were worried about you, darling!" Regulus said.

"You told me you were going to find Regulus. Can you imagine my reaction when I found him alone with Boot?!" Harry said grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly, his eyes mad with worry.

"I-I'm really s-sorry. I-I was m-mad at w-what Ron said and n-needed to c-calm down f-for a w-while." She said quietly looking down.

"Just don't suddenly disappear like that again, alright Phoen?" Regulus said lifting her chin to look her in the eyes. She nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah." She smiled hoping they'd buy it.

Then she felt hands grab her waist and hug her from behind she flinched violently.

"Hey, kitten. I was waiting for you at the compartment." Phoenix recognised the voice and felt Cormac rest his chin above her head.

"Who are you?" Harry and Regulus both said with a scowl. They couldn't help the feeling of protectiveness that controlled their whole beings.

Phoenix turned her head to the side and looked up with - at least she hoped - a convincing smile.

"S-Sorry, M-Mac. I-I got c-caught u-up in the flow." If one knew what to look for a hint of anger could be seen in the blonde's brown eyes.

Cormac just smiled and shook his head before extending his hand.

"I'm Cormac McLaggen, fifth year and Gryffindor." Harry and Regulus kept looking at him questioningly.

"I b-bumped into h-him w-while looking for R-Reg. W-We m-met a-at the end of last s-school year. W-we got c-caught up in t-talking and well..." Phoenix said, doing her best to sound truthful.

"What Phoenix is trying to say is that "we" happened. I hope you don't mind me taking Nix on a date on the first Hogsmeade weekend, Harry. And I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name either." The tallest of the group said with a smile.

Harry and Regulus were both looking between Phoenix and the golden haired boy as if they'd never seen anything like it.

"I really like your sister and I hope you are not against our relationship." Cormac said as an afterthought and gave the younger boy his trademark smile.

The black haired boys just gaped.

To be continued…

**A/N: Hello, dear ones!**

**I'm very very very sorry about the delay on this chapter. Many things happened and I didn't have the time to write and had a major block. I decided to abandon my Biomed uni course and entered a preparatory for Medical School. My test (here we have to take a – ridiculously hard - test to enter Uni and the competition is huge) is this month so technically I should be studying but I felt like I owed this chapter to you.**

**I'm with a new story called New Awakening, you should check it out if you like Alternative Dimensions and child Harry.**

**This chapter is not beta-ed yet so any mistakes will be corrected – I just wanted to update this story as soon as possible.**

**Please review and tell me what you'd like to see on this story. It really helps while writing and I love reviews. For the new readers I hope you liked this story, please follow and favourite if you did.**

**Love,**

**Maria**


	22. Clearing Things Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognise.**

**The Fire of the Phoenix**

**Chapter 21 – "Clearing Things Up" **

Harry cleared his throat once he got over the shock.

"Phoenix, could you come here for a minute?" He said, his face blank. The red head nodded and followed her brother to less crowded place.

Regulus watched their trajectory then turned to glare at the blond in front of him.

"What do you want with her, McLaggen?" Regulus said crossing his arms.

"She's my girlfriend, Black, you know what I want." Cormac said, crossing his arms as well.

"If you ever, ever hurt her or do something to her that she doesn't want to… Oh, Merlin, I swear – I swear you are gonna be too traumatised to tell the tale after I'm done with you." Reg said closing up on the older boy.

"Is that a threat Black? Because I'm not scared of you."

"I don't threaten people, I warn them, McLaggen. And just so you know: the right thing for you to say would be that you would never hurt her. I'm watching you."

"She knows my intentions, that's all that matters. She wants to be with me, Black. Get over it."

Then they both saw Phoenix walking back towards them with Harry a little behind. They were both frowning and it would be funny in any other occasion how much they looked alike.

Once they were alone Harry went straight to the point. "Okay, what is going on?" He looked at her up and down stopping on her split lip.

"Cormac explained to you-" Phoenix said slowly.

"I don't believe him for a second- we both know that's not the truth!" Harry said getting agitated. The stress of leaving his new family mingled to his sister's disappearance and now the blond boy was enough to make anyone snap.

"What? So you are allowed to h-have friends and an a-actual life but I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend?! It's selfish of you, don't you think?" The red head said coolly.

"You can call me selfish all that you want, Phoenix Lily, but the one thing I'm doing is trying to take care of you." Harry said harshly, then his voice softened. "I just don't want you to get hurt, no more than you already got. I don't like that guy, Phoenie."

"Y-You don't even know him, Harry." Phoenix said quietly, pleading for her brother to see reason.

"The way he looks at you… It's just… I get this strange feeling, alright? My gut is telling me that there's something wrong." The raven haired boy frowned and crossed his arms.

"Well, _your gut_ is wrong. Give him a chance, will you? Let me live my life, Harry, I've never stopped you from living yours." Then, the red head tuned around and left, walking towards her best friend and her boyfriend and leaving a hurt twin brother behind, only to follow her after a few seconds.

The quartet grabbed the last carriage to the castle. The boys were in a tense and awkward conversation – with Cormac boasting about his Uncle's job in the ministry - but Phoenix mind was elsewhere, running at light speed.

She knew she had hurt her brother, she felt it and it caused physical pain on the girl to hurt the one who's always been there for her. But if hurting him was the only way to keep him from finding out about her pseudo-relationship so be it.

Phoen also knew that Regulus suspected something. In fact, who wouldn't? She'd never mentioned Cormac before and then suddenly he was her boyfriend, she would have to work extra hard on her lies because this already wasn't a great start.

Cormac was sitting with an arm around her and Phoenix forced herself to relax, his threat not leaving her mind.

'_You are going to pretend that you are in love with me, that I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you. (…) And you better be convincing, or you know what'll happen.'_

She forced herself to pay attention to them when she felt the blond beside her squeeze her shoulder in alert. The topic was Quidditch.

"-_Of course_ I would join the team now that Wood is gone if there was a Inter-House Quidditch Cup this year-" Cormac was boasting.

"Confident much, aren't you?" Regulus mumbled with a raised brow. McLaggen made not sign of hearing him.

"Wait! There won't be a Quidditch Cup this year? Why?" Harry for a moment forgot he didn't want a word with the arrogant blond.

"Because of the Tournament! It's impossible for the school to have both happening at once." Cormac said as if it was obvious. No one knew what that tournament wasarry for a momen

until Regulus' eyes went wide and he opened his mouth.

"You're not saying- The Triwizard Tournament? People have died in this Tournament!" Regulus would have stood up if his height let him.

"W-What are you talking about?" Phoenix said her green eyes huge.

"Why did people die?" Harry said at the same time mirroring his sister's expression.

"Have you never heard about it? Oh, right. You were raised by muggles, I forgot." McLaggen said ignoring the twins' flinch when he mentioned their relatives.

Regulus shot Cormac a nasty look. "It's a Competition between the three largest magic schools of Europe. Hogwarts, Durmstrang from Bulgaria and Beauxbatons from France. Each school has a chosen student and they compete in three – dangerous – tasks."

"And Eternal Glory awaits the winner of the Tournament." The blond finished, leaning back on his seat and pulling the speechless girl with him. His eyes were shining as if the thought of eternal glory was all that he thought about.

"Why would they bring it back if people died?" Harry asked horrified.

"They are taking safety measures this year, to stop deaths and such. Something about being over-age to compete. At least that's what my Uncle told me."

The carriage came to a stop and they entered the school.

"I should go sit." Regulus said as they stopped on door of the Great Hall. "Talk to you later, okay? We need to talk." He whispered on Phoenix's ear and felt she gulp before she pulled away. Cormac pulled her to his side by the wrist.

Regulus patted Harry on the back and smiled at him before they all entered the Hall, a minute before the first years. Phoenix was about to follow her brother when Cormac pulled her to the opposite side of the table.

"You will sit with me." He whispered in her ear disguising it as a kiss on the side of her head.

"H-Harry?" Her brother looked at her. "I'm gonna sit with Cormac, a-alright?"

There was a disappointed look on his face before he nodded and left to look for Ron and Hermione.

Cormac held Phoen's hand in his and nodded at people, who were looking at them. Girls were staring at Phoenix in jealousy and she did her best to seem like she was enjoying his company as they sat with his friends.

Since everyone was paying attention at the sorting ceremony, the arrogant blond took the opportunity to whisper on Phoenix's ear one more time.

"I don't want you all hugs and closeness with Black, got it? You are my girlfriend now, what will people think?" She was strongly reminded of the Dursleys' conduct and just nodded. She finally made a friend of her own and now she'd have to push him away, she'd lose him. _'But no one can find out, no one.' _"And kitten, you should work on your faking part." He said before pecking her on the lips.

She gave him what she hoped was a loving smile and forced herself to lean into his touch.

Soon food appeared in front of them and she felt eyes on her, she saw Regulus looking at her pointedly and she smiled and put more food on her plate. She saw Hermione doing the same to Harry.

Cormac talked to his friends (a boy with brown hair and eyes almost as tall as the blond himself, Christopher, and a boy with strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes, Noah) as if Phoenix wasn't there and she was grateful, so she could focus on actually eating after the plot twist that was today.

When everyone finished their dessert, the plates disappeared and the headmaster stood to give a few notices.

_"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filtch's office, if anybody would like to check it."_

_The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."_

There was a murmur as the students gasped and complained, she heard Cormac say "Told you so." But ignored him.

_Dumbledore went on, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"_

At that moment there was the sound of loud thunder and the doors to the Great Hall opened. In stepped a man, leaning heavily on a staff and wearing a long travelling cloak. Everyone watched in silence and heard the clonk of a wooden leg as the newcomer limped towards the headmaster.

There was another lightning and the man's face was illuminated. His face had so many scars to the point that it was distorted and lost most of its resemblance to a normal human face. Part of his nostril was missing and his mouth was a diagonal tear. The man's eyes were more than frightening and Phoenix was sure she wasn't the only one who thought so.

_One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness._

The stranger and the headmaster shook hands and Dumbledore introduced him as Alastor Moody, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Everyone was so shocked by the man's appearance that only a few people clapped.

Phoenix watched as the Moody ignored the lack of response and pulled a flask from inside his cloak and took a long gulp.

_Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." _

The students who knew what the tournament was started to talk excitedly until Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"_Some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."_

There was a collective gasp from part of the students and exclamations. Phoenix could recognise Hermione's.

_"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger._

_"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."_

Students were whispering fervently about how they _had to _be the champions and win the prize.

_"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This -" Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."_

_"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"_

Everyone stood up, talking rapidly about the news and how exciting it was going to be. Phoenix could see the Weasley twins whispering to each other, probably plotting on how to dribble the rules and enter.

Phoenix walked hand in hand with her boyfriend to the common room. Wondering what a year this was going to be.

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed Harry cast _Lumos _and worked on a letter. He didn't have the opportunity to talk to Phoenix, since she wouldn't leave McLaggen's side. He was always with a hand on her leg, or kissing her. It made Harry's stomach churn, he knew there was something wrong.

That wasn't his sister, she would never start dating someone so suddenly especially someone she never talked about and had no story with. Harry saw she detach herself from the world many times, a blank look on her face until she suddenly remembered something and looked at the blond boy with a somewhat forced smile. This story was too strange and Harry was determined to get back ups to get to the bottom of it.

'_Dear Sirius and Remus,_

_I know we barely said goodbye and I really hope you don't mind this letter. It's about Phoenix._

_She just disappeared on the train ride and when we found her she was with this boy, Cormac McLaggen – his uncle works at the ministry or something. He said they were going out and Phoenix confirmed it! When I talked to her she was all defensive of him._

_This is all so strange, you know, it's not like her at all. She was all kisses with the guy in the __middle of the common room.__ Still, when she looks at him she has this strange look in her eyes and her smile is forced. She sometimes has this blank look on her face, like she's trying to escape this reality, you know? It's the same look she would- she would get __before you came__._

_I tried to talk to her, as I said before but she didn't open up to me. I'll ask Regulus try as well but maybe you could…? If it's not a bother, I mean. Maybe she says something. I know there's something wrong, I can feel it and she is blocking me from her thoughts._

_Hope you are well._

_Yours,_

_Harry'_

Harry tied the letter to his owl's leg and whispered the destination for her. Meanwhile on her dorm, Phoenix was muffling cries on her bed, even though the curtains were closed and there was a silencing spell on.

They both went to bed worried about what tomorrow would bring.

**To be continued…**

**A/N: Hello, dear readers.**

**This is just a filler. I just had to explain a few things and write Regulus' and Harry's reaction to Cormac. **

**I will try to post the next chapter soon and will do my best to make it a better one since this one and the last are terrible.**

**Please, tell me what you want to see on this story and I will do my best to insert it on the plot.**

**Also,**

**If you want pictures of how Reg and Phoenix look like in my mind just ask away and I'll send it to you.**

**Thank for everything and ****please**** don't stop reading because of the last chapters, they will get good again as soon as the Triwizard Tournament starts.**

**And a very happy Christmas and a brilliant new year. Also, happy Hanukkah if I have any Jewish readers.**

**Lots of love,**

**Maria**

**IMPORTANT PS: THIS IS NOT INCEST. Someone brought to my attention that sometimes my story has a "second meaning". I don't see it and I hope you don't too because I'd never write it that way. They comfort and care about each other like the close siblings they are. They were each other's everything for so long that it's natural that they are closer than usual but that's it. Thanks for everything!**


	23. Blood

**WARNING! USE OF BAD LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.**

**Disclaimer: HP is not mine.**

**The Fire of The Phoenix**

**Chapter 23 – Blood**

The last remaining true marauders were getting more worried by the second for many reasons.

First was the fact that Phoenix, according to Harry and Regulus, had changed. During the summer, they managed to make her come out of her shell significantly. She was talking, eating enough, laughing. The pieces in her had finally started to glue.

Now, both boys expressed their concerns in every single letter. According to them Phoenix was barely eating, had isolated herself and that disturbingly blank expression had taken over her face – again.

Second but not of less importance, they were worried about the contents of Harry's vision: about Voldemort's faithful servant at Hogwarts. Even though they alerted the Headmaster and there were many Aurors stationed there, it was Voldemort they were talking about and he always found a way. Sirius and Remus weren't about to let anything happen to their young charge.

Third: the Ministry and the mentioned school were holding a dangerous and possibly lethal tournament in a school full of children. Of course they were worried about their wards!

It was Friday, around 12am and the friends were talking over a dose of fire whiskey when a misty silver Phoenix appeared in the room. It started to speak on Albus Dumbledore's voice.

"Come to Hogwarts, quickly!" Their blood ran cold.

It was Friday afternoon around 11pm when Judith Hawthorn, a half-blood, brunette, 5th year Slytherin approached Regulus in the Common Room.

"Black, may I have a word?" She said seriously. The grey-eyed boy stood bewildered and followed the girl to a deserted corridor in the dungeons, near their house's hideaway.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked frowning.

"What I'm about to tell you is none of my concern, but I couldn't just approach Potter – for obvious reasons and you're the second on the list since I know you are friends with her." It was no secret who Regulus was living with and he knew immediately whom she was talking about. The boy tensed up automatically. "Without further ado: I heard the Sun King – that was Louis XIV"

"Don't insult my intelligence, I know who he was." Regulus snapped then regretted it and apologised - she was doing him a favour after all. The girl nodded.

"Anyway, I heard McLaggen bragging to his friends about the Potter girl in History class today. Phoenix, isn't it? The Sun King, as he is called, was saying that he was – and I quote – 'finally having it' tonight with her, that he couldn't wait. He was saying how he had her in his hand and how she would do anything to please him."

Regulus eyes went wide as he absorbed the impact of her words.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" He croaked out letting his carefully placed mask slip for a second.

"Look, I have many more interesting things to do than making up stories about a girl and her snob of a boyfriend I only know from distance. The only reason I'm telling you this is: I've studied with McLaggen for years now, we are not friends – in fact, I hate him. I know, well, _we_ all know – at least it's a common knowledge in my year –that he is a player, the worst kind. Anyone who potentially mistreats a girl or woman earns my disgust." She circled her hand on her arm absentmindedly. "I'm not about to let a girl get hurt because of petty house prejudices."

Now, Regulus had two options: interpret the warning as something silly, like two teens snogging – and possibly more; or go looking for them to stop the blond boy from breaking the girl even more.

Now the evidences: Phoenix was pushing everyone away, had bags under her eyes, wouldn't eat at the meals, seemed to be constantly hiding and Phoenix didn't look happy at all. Phoenix was hidden behind a steel curtain.

Reg knew which option to take. This feeling was foreign to him; the heart in the throat, twisting guts and shivers down his arms. The impulsiveness that controlled his body didn't let him think straight, he had to find Phoenix – he didn't have time to get help.

He thanked the girl who waved a hand in acceptance and nodded before the ran towards Merlin knows where. Then he stopped: he had to rationalise.

Where would he go if he didn't want to be found or bothered? To the Room of Requirement, of course. He had to bet on the hypothesis of McLaggen not having the knowledge of its existence and pray to God it was a true one. But what would be the second place he would go?

If he was a Gryffindor, he would go to a place where everyone was afraid to go – a place haunted by a ghost girl who scared or repudiated everyone with her flood of tears. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

He walked as quickly as he could in the shadows towards the second floor, hoping it wouldn't be too late.

Phoenix was in one of the study tables of the Gryffindor Common Room, trying to finish her Transfiguration essay due to Monday when she felt the familiar touch of her 'boyfriend' on her shoulder.

She tensed up as he leant down like he was going to kiss her cheek but instead whispered in her ear: "Meet me in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in ten. Don't be late, kitten, or you'll know what'll happen." And he left the room, with scolds of the Fat Lady for being out after curfew.

She knew what would happen. He would pull her closer just to push her strongly into a wall, kiss her painfully until it drew blood from the mistreated lips, he would scratch her, punch her. Of course, he only harmed her where the clothes covered. He did this things to Phoenix when she displeased him, wasn't convincing enough and when he only wanted to vent.

Though it was different from what her Uncle did. Cormac was not as strong as the walrus and didn't have all the instruments. – for a lack of better word – and creativity Besides, she deserved what she'd gotten from her relatives. Now she was taking all of this to protect her brother and herself.

The blonde's creativity laid in insults and manipulations. He forced the girl to do things using her flaws and self-abhorrence against her. He coerced her into an abusive relationship using her fear after all.

When Phoenix snapped out of her daydream, she was already a minute late. She was thankful her brother had gone to the dorms, or else he would inquire where she was going.

She jumped out of the chair and ran towards the doorway, ignoring the portrait's protest of being woken from her slumber – twice.

She didn't know if she was thankful or not that no one intercepted her way. She knew McLaggen had planned something special and she was sure it wouldn't be pleasant – for her.

Once there, she took a deep breath before crossing the "DO NOT TRESPASS! INTERDICTED BATHROOM!" tape and entering the haunted bathroom.

Cormac was leaning on the sink with arms crossed. She could see he had taken of his tie and opened the top buttons of his dress shirt and rolled the sleeves.

He tutted. "Oh, kitten, I thought you could at least follow orders. But then, that's why you were beaten up, right?" The blond came closer and circled her like a predator. "Because you couldn't follow the simplest orders. Or maybe it's just because you're weak and stupid. A. Stupid. Little. _Bitch_." He spat the last words on her face. "Do you want to see why you deserve to suffer? Because you like it. You like this." He slapped her. "This." He kneed her in the stomach. "And especially this." He pushed her against the wall hard, and she saw stars as her skull connected with the surface – she was sure she would have a concussion later – and pinned her arms. He bit her lip and she felt the thin skin split and the metallic taste of blood invade her palate.

"P-Please C-C-Cormac. D-Don't." She pleaded, though she knew it wouldn't work. It never did.

Slap. "Don't stutter. You know I fucking hate that." Kick. Phoenix curled forward with the impact of the move.

"Come on, slapper. Let's play. Undress me." He said nonchalantly.

"W-What? N-No! P-Please don't." She looked terrified, like a deer caught in highlights with nowhere to run.

"What? It's not like you haven't seen something like that before." He smirked. "Slow, aren't you? Let me show you how you do it."

Phoenix tried to make herself as small as she could as the heartthrob advanced but it didn't change a thing.

He put his hands on her face and ran it down her neck reaching her collar. She automatically put her hand in his, to stop him.

"P-Please, Cormac. I-I'll d-do anything else." She begged, only now noticing that she was crying. Her breathing was laboured, heart rate bursting.

"You will do as I please. Like a good whore you are." Then he yanked her white school shirt open, popping its' buttons and pulled down her skirt in one swift movement, leaving the girl only on her underwear. She tried to cover her frame but her success was none.

The blood then stopped to analyse her sickly thin frame. "Damn, you are a horrid little thing, aren't you? Look at those scars. So… weak. If it wasn't for your brother's fame, no one would want you around. I suppose a few more are due, don't you think? You've been defying me, my orders and you haven't been very convincing lately, you don't look in love with me at all. But then, I wonder how could you know how being in love is like if you've never been loved. After all, how could someone love this disfigured… thing." He gestured to her body.

Phoenix knew he was right. She was dirty, disgusting, weak, good-for-nothing, disposable, nothing more than a disfigured body of a slut.

Her legs faltered for a second and McLaggen gripped her arm so tightly it would for sure leave a bruise. He tutted, "Pathetic. Let's get this over with, right? So we can move to the most exciting part."

He crashed her body into the wall one, two, three times before throwing her on the floor.

"You better remember how to cast those glamours, kitten. You will need them." He bent down and she flinched, but he just whispered in her ear. "I'm sure you've had worse."

Kick. Slap. Punch. Cutting-hex. Punch. Punch. Burning-hex. Punch. Kick. And so went on for what seemed like an eternity.

After a while, when Phoenix was bleeding from her temple, lips and uncountable cuts, with haematomas (bruises) forming over her weakened body, her arm possibly broken, Cormac stopped.

He pulled her up by the possibly broken arm and pinned her against a wall. Only now she noticed he had removed his shirt.

He started to kiss her injured lips and biting it before moving his hands to her breasts. She tried to protest, but the strength had left her along with the blood she lost. Then he started lowering his hands, going down, down, down to the hem of her panties.

BOOM!

The door exploded open and Regulus entered the room. He was too late.

Phoenix was now on the floor, a broken shell in a pool of blood. She was once more analysed, though now by the other boy.

As he analysed cut by cut, bruise by bruise of her uncovered body his anger grew. And it grew like never before. Only one thing came to his mind: "I have to kill him."

The blond boy – who jumped away when the explosion occurred – didn't even have time to pick his wand.

"Expulso!" The Black cast canalising all his power and in result the Sun King was blasted into a wall, barely conscious. Then he cast a quick succession of hexes, spell after spell. "Reduc-"

"BLACK! THAT IS ENOUGH."

Regulus looked at the boy in front of him, his six-pack abs marked my scars, his head bleeding heavily. Cormac was unconscious.

He turned around just to see his head of house covering Phoenix with his robe.

"Regulus-" She said, before passing out.

Regulus couldn't detect emotions on her voice. Was she scared of him? Was she fine? Of course not. Was she grateful?

_'For what? For seeing the one she trusted murder a guy in front of her? Abuser or not?'_

Oh no! He did kill Cormac, didn't he?

With that single ponderation, his mind shut down.

To be continued…

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I hope this chapter is better than the last two and that you like it. I had a bad case of writer's block and THE22NDDOCTOR helped me with this idea. So thank you, dear.**

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**I will try to update soon. I'm studying for a exam to enter Doctor School so I barely have time to myself.**

**Lots of love,**

**Maria**


	24. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**The Fire of The Phoenix**

**Chapter 24 – The Aftermath**

Regulus didn't know how he came to be where he was, or where he was. He stared at the wall in front of him vacantly as Madam Pomfrey healed her patients - so he should be in the hospital wing, right? But why? Professors Snape and McGonagall were talking in hushed whispers and the headmaster had just sent a Patronus to Sirius and Remus. Not that Regulus was aware of that happening.

Regulus wasn't aware of anything. The only feelings he had were of immense fear. A not-comforting-at-all mantra kept playing in his head. I've gone dark.". Why? Did he hurt someone?

He didn't know for how long he sat there, the only thing that indicated he wasn't a statue was his shallow breathing and occasional blinking. He felt like he was floating, detached from the world.

In his mind, he could remember the sound of an eerie laugh that gave him shivers. It was her laugh. He could hear his infant-self cry as his mother tortured him with his bottle, letting him take a sip and pulling it out of his mouth roughly.

"Crucio" Only now he did remember that pain. He must have been about 1 and a half years old, maybe a little more. He was hungry and wouldn't stop crying, Cassandra Crouch was not on her good days. That was July 31st 1981 - not that he knew that.

He supposed he had blocked those memories but now, once he felt her darkness inside of him, tinting his very soul, it all came back in full force.

He stared at the wall not seeing a thing. He was immersed in self-hate and painful memories.

Sirius and Remus had never moved so fast in their whole lives. They were thankful for the laziness that prevented them from changing for bed.

They flooed to Poppy Pomfrey's office and were met with the grave face of Albus Dumbledore.

"What happened?" Sirius said looking much like the insane man people thought he used to be.

"I should ask you to have a seat."

"Don't bloody tell me to take a seat, old man! I want to know what the hell is going on!" Sirius exploded. Dumbledore waved his hand and a silencing spell was cast.

"Sirius." Remus said putting a hand on his best friend's arm. "Let him speak. You better be quick." He growled the last part to the headmaster, the werewolf's eyes glowing amber.

"I don't know much of what happened, the ones able to tell us are, well, unavailable at the moment." Sirius was about to speak but the headmaster held up a hand. "I will tell you what Severus told me-"

"What the hell did Snape do?" Sirius said. "I swear-"

"I saved your god-daughter and kept your nephew from becoming a murderer." The potions master said entering the room and closing the door behind him with a click.

"W-What?" Remus asked. Sirius was stunned into silence.

"I will make this simple, I'm sure your dimwitted gryffindorish minds are not able to form coherent thoughts, especially at the moment." The Marauders were so shocked and confused they didn't even rise the bait. "Long story short, I was patrolling the second floor corridor when I heard a yelled-curse from the girls' interdicted lavatory. I went to investigate and found Regulus Black milliseconds away from blowing Mr McLaggen to ashes and Miss Potter almost unconscious in a pool of blood - in inappropriate clothing. After I shouted his name, Mr Black snapped out of his rage and his face blanked. I managed to make him help me bring the hurt students to the hospital wing - though I'm sure he wasn't aware of what he was doing. In sum: Mr Black is possibly in psychological shock, Ms Potter is unconscious and Mr McLaggen is in a magically induced coma and had a spinal chord damaged."

"Inappropriate clothing?" Remus asked the first thing he could think of paling even more.

"I'm sure you know what that means, wolf." Snape rolled his eyes.

Sirius then got up really fast and made his way towards the door. He strode towards the matron who was putting away empty flasks.

"Poppy, what happened to them? Why is Phoenix unconscious? Will she be alright? And what about Regulus? Does shock is what I think it is?" Sirius hands were shaking and his eyes wild.

Madam Pomfrey ran a hand through her face. "Miss Potter besides being undernourished and hypoglycaemic - that means her blood sugar is really low from not eating in a extended period of time - had a broken arm, bruised stomach as well as bruises all over her body, first and second degree burns and lacerations. She had a cut on her head and concussion. She arrived here unconscious and was placed in a potion induced sleep so she could rest-" Sirius was about to interrupt when she raised her hand. "No Mr. Black, it's not dangerous for her to sleep as long as she is monitored. That is a myth. I'm keeping her here overnight."

Remus arrived and stood behind Sirius. "But is there anything else? Any indications of s-sexual assault?" The werewolf coughed the last part afraid of the answer.

"No, though it was a close call. She arrived here just on her underclothes, though Professor Snape covered her with his robes. If that's any indication... We can only deduce that young Mr. Black arrived just in time."

"Thank Merlin!" Remus breathed out in relief. Though he knew the emotional scars had been reopened.

How did they not notice? How did they not imagine something like this would happen? Why didn't she come to them? Didn't Phoenix trust her godfathers to help her? So many questions that could only be answered by the mentioned girl and time.

"However-" The mediwitch said grabbing the Marauders' attention. "What worries me is their emotional health. By 'their' I mean Ms. Potter and Mr. Black's. Especially young Mr. Black's. To answer your question, Sirius, acute stress disorder - more commonly known as emotional shock, or simply shock is a variant of PTSD. Mr. Black showed - in this small period of time since the incident - some symptoms that led me to believe that he is suffering from it."

"What are they? The symptoms, I mean." Sirius said feeling like his head would explode.

"Detachment from the body, dazed, he doesn't seem aware of where he is but has an exaggerated startle response at the same time. Those he's shown up until now. He didn't speak to anyone so far and we were hoping he would speak to you before we reach a diagnostic. The symptoms of ASD also include dissociative memory - that means not recalling important facts about the event, flashbacks, nightmares and sometimes functional impairment - having trouble to accomplish the basic necessary tasks." Madam Pomfrey waited a few seconds. "About Miss Potter, well, after everything she's been through especially now that she was healing, it will be a hard blow. It is natural for her to retreat to her shell and fears. You'll just have to help her like you did in the summer. You know her better now so you know how to deal with her troubles. Both of them will need you."

Sirius nodded feeling faint as walked towards his goddaughter's bed. He ran a hand over her bruised cheek and Remus put a hand on his surrogate brother's shoulder in support, even though himself was pale as a ghost.

"Padfoot" the werewolf said capturing the animagus' attention. "She is asleep. Why don't you go talk to Regulus? I'll stay with her."

"Yeah, right." Sirius said looking disoriented. He walked towards the boy who looked so much like his little brother - consequently himself.

Sirius said sitting down beside his nephew on the last hospital bed.

"Reg?" Nothing. "Regulus?" Sirius insisted touching his nephew lightly on the shoulder. The boy's reaction was instantaneous. He jumped out of the bed and would have fallen flat on his face if his uncle hadn't caught him by the arm. "Steady, Reggie." Sirius said analysing the usually gracious boy.

Regulus was white as a ghost, his lips were dry and his eyes were slightly unfocused. The boy had a blank look on his face and his black hair was clinging to his forehead. His white shirt was stained with blood from when he refused to let Phoenix go.

"Uncle Sirius?" Reg blinked owlishly at his Uncle.

"Yeah, pup. It's me. Why don't you sit down, huh? C'mon, let me help you." Sirius helped the grey-eyed boy pull himself up in the bed, noticing with alarm that his nephew's movements were slower than normal and he still had that look on his face.

"W-what's going on? Why are you blurry? Am I dreaming?" Regulus asked rolling his tongue.

"What is the last thing you can remember, Reg?" Sirius said standing in front of his nephew and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I-I remember being in the Common Room." Regulus slurred.

"What else?" Sirius prompted. The young Black just shook his head.

Sirius took a sharp intake of breath. "Do you know where you are?"

The boy took a look around his forehead crinkling as he tried to concentrate and focus.

"I-I'm in the Hospital Wing? But ho-how did I get here? Did you carry me like a baby as I slept?" The boy laughed hysterically at his own question and looked down.

If he was pale, he paled even more.

_Flash_

_The bathroom floor with puddles of blood._

_Flash_

_McLaggen being thrown into the stone wall, his body falling limply on the ground._

_Flash_

_Phoenix - purple, bloodstained and pale Phoenix, whispering Regulus' name._

_Flash_

_His own hand, holding a wand about to cast the blasting spell._

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Regulus said backing away on the bed. Looking much like a deer caught in headlights. Unnoticed tears streaming down his cheeks.

Sirius got closer, about to pull the boy into his arms.

"GET AWAY OF ME!" Regulus screamed before he was violently sick all over himself. Sirius - who hesitated with the yell - was on his side immediately. The animagus rubbed his nephew's back as the boy dry heaved. He cleaned Regulus' clothes with a wave of his wand and sat behind the boy on the bed, this time - despite the teen's efforts - effectively pulling Regulus to his chest and pinning down the trashing arms. "Get. Away." The boy said brokenly.

"Shh, pup. I won't leave you." Sirius words were muffled by his nephew's hair.

"Please." The boy sobbed and trashed to get away. "Leave me alone."

"No, Reg. You know I can't do that."

"I can - I can hurt you." Regulus said trying to steady his voice and make it threatening.

"You won't." Sirius said unfazed.

"How do you know that? I just killed two people." The boy said dryly stifling back a sob.

"No, Reggie, you didn't."

"STOP LYING TO ME!" The boy screamed trying to pull himself off his uncle's grip. "I remember!" The boy looked at his uncle hatefully, but a part of him was begging Sirius to say otherwise. Sirius saw from his peripheral vision that a small crowd had gathered and shook his head, locking eyes with his best friend. The crowd dispersed.

"What do you remember, Reg? Hm?" Sirius said staring back at his nephew with love and comprehension in his eyes.

"The-The bloody floor! Cormac McLaggen being thrown into a wall! And Phoenix- Oh, God." Regulus vomited all over himself again and Sirius repeated the process of cleaning it.

"Shhhh, pup. You didn't kill anyone. They are okay." Sirius said trying to calm the shaking boy.

"I-I'm just like h-her. I-I've gone dark." It took Sirius a moment to realise whom his nephew was referring to.

"Regulus Black!" Sirius gasped horrified. He spun his nephew so now the boy was sitting in front of him. "Don't you ever, ever compare yourself to your mother. Do you hear me? You are nothing like her." Sirius said cupping his nephew's face.

The said boy roughly removed his head away from his uncle. "Why? It's the truth. No matter how hard I try I will always be tainted." Regulus said bitterly.

"You, Regulus, are not tainted. You are your own person. Our parents' mistakes do not define us, pup." Sirius said emphatically. Regulus' fast changing emotions were worrying him.

"Of course they matter! My mother was a lunatic killer but I bet even she didn't kill anyone at the age of fourteen! I'm worse than her. I don't deserve to live."

"Regulus Leo Black! If I ever hear you say that again - God help me!" Sirius threatened horrified.

"Why aren't you mad at me? I just killed your goddaughter! I-I killed her." The young Black sobbed out the last part with tears falling from his grey eyes.

"For goodness' sake, Regulus! You didn't kill-. Never mind, come with me." Sirius said holding out his hand.

"No!" The boy said like a petulant child. Sirius was about to throw the boy over his shoulder but then realised that the boy was sick moments ago and moved to pick him up bridal style. "What are you doing? Let me go!" Regulus thrashed mortified.

"Regulus. I need you to trust me. You didn't kill anyone and I'm going to show you that. Okay?"

"No-Please. I-I don't wanna see the bodies. Let me go!" The boy begged openly crying. Regulus' breathing was laboured and he was on the verge of his first ever panic-attack.

"Enough, Mr Black." Severus Snape said entering their line of sight. The man strode towards the bed with a vial on his right hand. "Here, drink this." He said in a no-nonsense attitude.

"Wha-" Regulus opened his mouth to speak but had the liquid shoved down his throat. He gulped automatically.

"Snape! What the hell?" Sirius exclaimed in shock.

"Calming Draught, Black, a strong one. I'm sure even you can recognise a panic attack. If I were to poison him I for sure wouldn't be that open about it." The Potions Master drawled and left billowing his robes.

Sirius recovered himself and looked at his nephew, who had a blank look on his face – again.

"Come here, Reg." Sirius said about to take the boy into his arms but the boy came down of the bed willingly.

"Whoa." Regulus said with a laugh. Sirius was even more alarmed. "Why can't I control my feet? I feel funneeeeey." The boy said before tumbling to his side like a drunk man. Sirius moved quickly and scooped the boy into his arms – an almost unachievable feat since Regulus was way heavier and taller than the twins.

Sirius moved quickly aware of the eyes following him towards his goddaughter's bed. The curtains were drawn around it stopping unwanted guests.

Sirius sighed and entered the area, putting his nephew down beside the bed. The boy had his eyes glued to the girl's rising and deflating chest. Remus moved to the feet of the bed, giving Regulus some space.

Regulus moved his eyes to her face and arms taking in every visible bruise and the IV supplying nutrients linked to her body. He grabbed her hand in his and rubbed it with his thumb.

"S-She's alive?" The boy croaked but it wasn't Sirius who answered the question.

"Y-Yes." The now conscious girl croaked out. "Y-You s-saved me." Green eyes locked with grey.

**A/N: I know Harry wasn't on this chapter and I hope you don't mind that. He will be on the next one. **

**Regulus will also play a big part on this story – already does, in fact – and I had to write about his feelings from when he believed he was a murderer. This will bring our favourite couple (ReNix) closer and leave Harry in debt with Reg (which will also bring them closer). This will strengthen their family.**

**I really hope you liked it since I loved writing this chapter! Thank you for everything and I'll do my best to update soon!**

**Please join our facebook group for sneak peeks, dream casting, extras, polls and so much more. Link here (groups/719039084875602/) or on my profile!**

**Lots of love,**

**Maria**


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